Research on specific test bed applications has revealed a unifying theme, the heterogeneous integration of varying functionality into each volume element of a device.

On the upper right is a traditional device, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube). Here different functionality is provided by each subassembly within the device. The housing provides the mechanical packaging, the screen is the optically active element, the electron source and beam steering assembly provide the writing mechanism.

In contrast, the e-paper in the book on the lower right is an example of an emerging Nano-CEMMS paradigm of heterogeneous integration where electronic, mechanical and optical functions are directly embedded in each pixel of the paper.