Micro electro mechanical systems or MEMS is a technology that is defined as miniaturized mechanical as well as electro-mechanical elements (such as devices and structures) which is created by using the method of micro fabrication. Increasing interest usage in micro technologies has increased the demand of nanotechnology that is opening up various opportunities for creating new micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based products and applications. MEMS have major applications in various sectors such as consumer electronics, healthcare, aerospace & defense, automotive etc. which is creating huge opportunity for the market growth. According to International Trade Administration, MEMS has reached record sales of approximately $66.6 billion in 2015 and it has accounted for 18.8% of the overall semiconductor industry that is up from 15.3% in 2005. In automotive industry, passenger safety has a prime significance for vehicle manufacturers. MEMS technology has an extensive variety of MEMS sensors that is broadly used in the automotive industries. As comparison with the previous sensors, MEMS sensor has various advantages such as safety advancement, fuel utilization reduction and it is economical to vehicles. With the gaining popularity of nano scale fabrication and molecular manufacturing, the cost of such devices is expected to decline which leads to a rise in volume and market growth. Moreover, increasing technological advancements in MEMS is further driving the market growth. In the past 30 years, technological developments have driven high movement in the consumer electronics, communications, automotive, medical as well as the leisure industry. In recent years, MEMS technology supported the improvement of miniature sensors i.e. gyros, tilt, accelerometers and pressure devices. MEMS sensors usage varies from cars and computers to sprinkler control as a systems and satellites. These sensors serve as important components in control, safety and feedback applications. The introduction of better micromachining methods has made the production of smaller and more flexible components economically viable. The automotive accelerometer as a device, is gaining huge popularity owing to its low cost of production. Systems-on-a-chip is also a recent advancement in the MEMS field. Combining sensors, process circuitry and communication capabilities in the same chip or silicon wafer is near to realization and prototypes have demonstrated the viability of such systems. The manufacturers are developing advanced MEMS-based sensors for several applications to expand their market presence globally.
The global micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) market is expected to grow with the CAGR of approximately 11.3% during the forecast period (2016-2023). Furthermore, increasing demand in industrial automation and increasing adoption of consumer electronic devices and rapid growth in IoT market has also supported to drive the market demand. The rapid growth of the Internet of things (IoT) is expected to fuel the demand for MEMS devices among fields comprising asset-tracking systems, smart grids and building automation. However, design issues with MEMS systems and compatibility & reliability issues are acting as major restraining factors for the market. MEMS market is offering good opportunity due to increasing healthcare spending in developing countries such as China, India etc. which leads the production of medical devices on which MEMS components are employed in diagnostic, monitoring, therapeutic and surgical devices.
The global microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) market is segmented on the basis of application and product. According to application, the market is further classified into consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace & defense, healthcare, industrial and telecommunication. The consumer electronics application segment is expected to be the major revenue generating segment during the forecast period. MEMS technology is utilized for allowing motion control, display control, gesture recognition and navigation in tablets, smartphones, smart wearable, cameras and gaming consoles. Furthermore, the increasing demand for connected homes, connected cars and smart watches etc. offers better opportunity for the MEMS market. According to product, the market is further classified into gyroscopes, optical MEMS, accelerometers, microphones and pressure sensors.
Based on geography, Asia Pacific held major share, in terms of revenue in 2015 due to increasing demand for consumer electronics products such as smartphones, wearable products etc. as well as increasing automotive industry in the region. For instance: According to International Trade Administration, China has sold over 24 million units of automotive vehicles in 2015 i.e. a 4.7% growth rate from 2014. The 13th Five Year Plan (2016-2020) for the Social and Economic Development of the People’s Republic of China to implement an innovation-driven growth strategy to encourage China’s local automotive industry. Under this plan, the government of China is also planning to enhance modern industrial systems to promote the development of advanced energy vehicles as well as to execute new energy vehicle promotion plans and to promote the utilization of new energy vehicles in taxi and urban public transit sectors. China is also expected to further support public transportation by speedily expanding large capacity public transit such as rapid transit bus lines and urban railways to support green commuting and to promote the expansion of customized transport i.e. online car-hailing. Thus, increasing government focus on automotive sector shows that there will be high growth in automotive sector in the country which leads the demand for MEMS sensors as it is primarily used in automotive sectors for safety purpose in vehicles.
The major players included in the report are Hewlett Packard Company (U.S.), NXP Semiconductors (Netherland), ST microelectronics (Switzerland), Texas Instruments (U.S.), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Denso Corporation (Japan), Canon Inc. (U.S.), Invensense Inc. (U.S.), Knowles Electronics, LLC. (U.S.), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany) and Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.) and so on. Mergers & acquisitions, product launches, partnerships etc. are the key strategies adopted by the major players to expand market share and gain competitive advantage across the globe. For instance: On Nov. 2016, InvenSense and Sonion have launched O-Series MEMS Microphones in 2 small form factors i.e. O8 (8mm³) and O11 (11mm³). According to InvenSense, this new O-series has been designed especially for hearing aids, it offers better sound quality with enormous signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), augmented overload margin for long dynamic range and low-power adjusted for 0.9V operation. The products of O-series offer greater flexibility to hearing aid producers in hearing aid design. The collaboration with Sonion is a key to InvenSense’s strategy of carrying their micromechanical solutions and technologies for hearing instruments to the market.
Furthermore, On March 2015, Bosch SensorTec (fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH) has introduced MEMS sensors along with unified microcontroller for android smartphones. The sensor devices which has introduced are BHA250 and BHI160. The smart phones rely always on sensors for several applications such as indoor navigation, fitness tracking, gesture recognition and step counting. According to Bosch, SensorTec, such sensor devices significantly declines system power consumption, and therefore extends battery life, a key competitive benefit for phone manufacturers.
