Is Covid-19 changing the MEMS market dynamics?

By Anne-Françoise Pelé for EETIMES Europe – The Covid-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease. It has been sending shocks through the world economy, and the MEMS industry is no expectation. 

In an interview with EE Times Europe, Éric Mounier, fellow analyst, and Dimitrios Damianos, technology & market analyst in the photonics and sensing division at Yole Développement (Lyon, France), analyze and assess the impact of the current crisis on the different MEMS markets. 

While no clear trend is emerging, the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to have both direct and indirect effects on the development and deployment of MEMS in applications. 

According to Yole, the global MEMS revenue will grow at a 7.4-percent CAGR, from $11.5 billion in 2019 to $17.7 billion in 2025. The consumer market is and will continue to be the foremost driver for MEMS with about 60 percent of the total, followed by the automotive market at less than 20 percent of the total.

Consumer

The consumer market will be supported by the radio-frequency (RF) MEMS in response to the expanding 5G and sub-6 GHz band rollout that calls for Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) filters. “We do not expect the RF MEMS devices to be negatively impacted,” said Damianos. “The smartphone market might suffer this year due to decreased consumer spending, but we will have a penetration of the 5G and of the RF MEMS that are going into smartphones.” 

Including RF MEMS, Yole analysts expect the consumer market to contract by 2.6 percent in 2020. Excluding RF MEMS, it is, however, set to drop by 16 percent in 2020. A recovery to pre-covid levels is expected in 2021. Growth will then resume. 

Medical

The Covid-19 has created demand for medical MEMS sensors, said Damianos. As countries work to contain the pandemic, the need for effective diagnostic testing has been front and center. Si-glass microfluidics has seen a surge in demand, and Yole predicts the microfluidics market will grow at a CAGR of 11.7 percent to $17.4 billion in 2024. 

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