MEMS system market forecasted to reach $95 billion by 2010
The market for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), which includes products such as automobile airbag systems, display systems and inkjet cartridges totaled $48 billion in 2005, and is expected to top $95 billion by 2010, according to Global MEMS/Microsystems Markets and Opportunities, a comprehensive new market research report from SEMI.
The MEMS devices at the heart of these systems totaled $5.3 billion in 2005, and are projected to grow to $9.9 billion by 2010, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 percent, fueled by increasing use in consumer electronics. MEMS devices are defined as die-level components of first-level packaging, and include pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, digital mirror displays, micro fluidic devices, etc. The materials and equipment used to manufacture MEMS devices topped $1 billion in 2005, with MEMS materials forecasted to grow at CAGR of 15%, while MEMS equipment is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 6% through 2010. Materials demand is driven by substrates, making up over 70% of the market, packaging coatings and increasing use of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). While MEMS manufacturing continues to be dominated by used semiconductor equipment, there is a migration to 200 mm lines and select new tools, including etch and bonding for certain MEMS applications.
"The MEMS industry is being driven by a range of new applications in the consumer sector such as MEMS microphones in cell phones, accelerometers in consumer gaming applications, optical MEMS for TVs, MEMS resonators in lieu of quartz oscillators for time keeping, and in the coming years, micro fuel cells," said Lubab Sheet, senior director of Emerging Technologies at SEMI. "The report takes a closer look at these application trends and implications to materials and manufacturing to enable SEMI members to better determine where the new opportunities are, and how they might fit into the market."
