EL SEGUNDO, Calif., 27 Aug. 2008. The global market for micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) will expand to $8.8 billion in 2012, up from $6.1 billion in 2006, driven by demand for consumer electronics and wireless applications, predict analysts at iSuppli Corp. in El Segundo, Calif.
"The markets for mainstay MEMS actuator products -- like inkjet heads and digital light processor (DLP) chips from Texas Instruments Inc. -- finally have passed the baton to MEMS sensors to drive the next growth wave in the market," says Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst for MEMS at iSuppli.
"The new wave is partly founded in the rapid rise of consumer electronics applications such as motion sensors for gaming, laptops, and digital still cameras. Mobile handsets will also be a strong area, with MEMS sensor revenue in this area to rise at a 22.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach $925 million in 2012," Bouchaud says.
The worldwide market for accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, pressure sensors, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters, flow sensors, micro-fluidic chips, microbolometers, thermopiles and oscillators is growing at an 11 percent rate annually, and overtook the actuator market for the first time ever in 2007, iSuppli analysts point out.
Four main segments collectively will account for slightly more than 60 percent of total MEMS market revenue in 2012: consumer electronics, mobile handsets, automotive, and industrial process control.
The one bright spot for actuators is in radio frequency (RF) MEMS switches used in mobile handsets and test equipment, analysts say. This market will grow at an annual rate of more than 100 percent from 2006 to 2012, and will account for $261 million in actuator revenue in 2012, up from just $6 million in 2007.
For more information contact iSuppli online at www.isuppli.com.
