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TSMC named top pure play MEMS foundry

TSMC holds top place as the World's largest pure play MEMS foundry, with a blistering 200 percent growth in 2011, reports IHS iSuppli

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's largest pure play foundry for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices, posted a phenomenal 201 percent increase in revenue, last year, as it gained share from rivals and capitalised on new income streams, reports market analysis firm IHS iSuppli.

Revenue in 2011 for TSMC reached $53.0 million, up from $17.6 million in 2010, with the company manufacturing a broad range of MEMS sensors and actuators, including 3-axis gyroscopes, accelerometers, MEMS microphones, pressure sensors, lab-on-chips and inkjet print heads.

According to the analyst, TSMC led an aggressive pack of 12 pure play foundries that provided MEMS manufacturing. Those joining TSMC in enjoying MEMS foundry revenue growth last year included Silex Microsystems, Teledyne Dalsa, Innovative Micro Technology, X-Fab, Tronics, Jazz Semiconductor, Semefab and GlobalFoundries.

Among the losers suffering revenue declines were Asia-Pacific Microsystems, Micralyne and tMt Touch Microsystems.

Total pure play MEMS foundry revenue last year from the 12 as well as a handful of other manufacturers amounted to $286.0 million, up a solid 23 percent from $231.8 million in 2010.

According to IHS, a major factor of growth for TSMC in MEMS was its client InvenSense, for which the Taiwanese foundry made 3-axis gyroscopes and 6-axis inertial measurement units (IMU).

Another important growth driver for TSMC in MEMS last year was Analog Devices. In particular, TSMC benefited from ADI's design wins with MEMS microphones in the iPad 2 tablet from Apple.

But as IHS highlights, the MEMS business of TSMC remains but a droplet compared to the overall revenue generated by the foundry, the largest of its kind in the world.

Silex Microsystems of Sweden came second after TSMC, with revenues topping $45.9 million, up 28 percent from $36.0 million. Optical MEMS switches for fiber optic tele- com applications served as the main growth driver.

Meanwhile, US-based TeleDyne Dalsa came third recording revenues of $37.0million in 2011, up 20 percent from $30.9million in 2010. Optical MEMS was also the main revenue driver, and the company last year started delivering wave selective switch-reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers to market leader JDSU.

Top three players aside, revenue-gaining MEMS foundries in 2011 included Innovative Micro Technology, US, X-Fab of Germany, Tronics from France, US-based Jazz Semiconductor, UK-based Semefab and GlobalFoundries, US.

Growth for these companies stayed in the robust double digits, ranging from 11 percent up to the market's second-best revenue expansion of 178 percent for GlobalFoundries; next only to that of market leader TSMC.

Gyroscopes were the top source of MEMS revenue in 2011 for MEMS pure play foundries, followed by accelerometers and then pressure sensors.

IHS says the top MEMS applications last year were for the joint consumer and mobile space, ahead of both industrial applications and medical applications.


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