Magnetic Sensors 2024

Glossary 

Definitions 

What we include in the forecasts, what we do not include 

Identity card 

Report’s objectives 

Scope of the report 

About the authors 

Historical forecasts 

What we got right, what we got wrong 

3-Page summary 

Executive summary 

Context 

• Magnetic Sensors 
• End-markets 
  • Context in the automotive end-market 
  • Context in the consumer end market 
  • Context in the industrial & energy end market 

Market forecasts 

• Magnetic sensors revenue forecast 
• Magnetic sensors volume forecast 
• Overall ASP evolution 
• Magnetic sensors split by function (% of total volume) 
• Technology evolution by function 
• Automotive & Mobility market forecasts 
• Consumer market forecasts 
• Industrial & Energy market forecasts 
• Medical market forecasts 

Market trends 

• Automotive & Mobility 
  • Internal combustion engines 
  • Electrification of cars – new opportunities for magnetic sensors 
  • Usual powers and currents in BEVs 
  • E-motors – an opportunity for TMR? 
  • Evolution of braking systems 
  • E-bike market trends 
  • Motorcycles and scooters 
• Consumer
  • End-systems included in the consumer analysis 
  • eCompass still a key device for consumer electronics 
  • Optical image stabilization market trends 
  • TWS earbuds market trends 
  • VR headset market trends 
• Industrial & Energy and Medical 
  • Photovoltaic panels market trends 
  • Incentives and targets for PV installations 
  • Magnetic sensors for Predictive maintenance 
  • Medical market trends 

Market shares & supply chain 

• Ecosystem overview 
• Automotive design wins 
• Recent Consumer design wins 
• Most important news in the ecosystem since Q1 2022 
• Magnetic sensors market shares 
• Automotive & mobility market shares 
• Consumer market shares 
• Industrial & Energy market shares 
• Medical market shares 
• More consolidation expected? 
• Volume market shares by technology 

Technology trends 

• Different technologies for different functions
  • Different technologies to sense magnetic fields… 
  • Technology comparison 
  • Innovation priorities 
• Focus on current sensors – which sensor should be better for future BEVs? 
  • The conventional technology for current sensing 
  • Pros & cons of each technology 
  • Which current sensors for which applications? 
• Focus on TMR – Overview of the technology & integration
  • TMR integration 
  • TMR – an opportunity for current sensing? 
• Beyond TMR? 
  • Using micromagnets to make gradiometers 

Outlook 

Yole Group related products 

Corporate Presentation 

Magnetic sensing technologies well aligned with global trends

Magnetic sensors are widely used in Automotive, Mobility, Industrial, Energy, Medical, and Consumer applications. Thanks to their wide variety of functions, magnetic sensors have spread into numerous applications, leading the market to a value of $2.9B in 2023. The market is expected to reach $3.7B five years from now, growing at $4% CAGR23-29. In value, the market is mainly led by Automotive & Mobility with profound transformations in the domain including the electrification and sensorization of cars leading the market to reach $2.3B in 2029. However, in volume, the market is primarily driven by the Consumer end-market, which is expected to reach almost $600M (more than 7 billion units!) in 2029, growing with a 4% CAGR23-29 too. Beyond typical OIS and eCompass applications, new opportunities lie ahead, especially for TMR in TWS earbuds and VR headsets to correct the gyroscopes’ drifts. 

With the world and industry changing rapidly these last years, the application landscape for magnetic sensors is also evolving in the Industrial & Energy and Medical end-markets. Those two end markets are expected to reach $830M and $30M in 2029, respectively. With the electrification of cars fostering the deployment of DC-charging stations full of current sensors, Industry 4.0 driving the demand for position sensors, switches & latches, and the possible advent of predictive maintenance using current sensors, the outlook is bright!

Allegro Microsystems leading revenues, TDK leading volumes

The market shares and leaders for 2023 are somewhat different based on volumes and revenues. Indeed, selling prices are different between end-markets. Consumer applications tend to use cheaper (and simpler) sensors than the Automotive or Industrial end-markets. 

In terms of revenue, Allegro Microsystems is leading with 23% of the market. Its strong presence in Automotive and Industrial applications combined with a broad technology portfolio (not only Hall but also GMR and TMR) makes it the most strategically placed in the market. Infineon and Melexis follow with roughly 15% of the market, with portfolios mainly oriented toward Automotive & Mobility applications. 

In terms of volume, TDK and AKM are leading with significant consumer design wins. TDK supplies TMR magnetic sensors to most flagship phones for OIS. AKM leads the eCompass market and also has activities on Hall-based OIS sensors. 

The market seems relatively concentrated, especially in the Automotive & Mobility end-market. However with the electrification of cars, we start to see new designs on the market, which could be an opportunity for Consumer and Industrial & Energy players to enter the Automotive end-market. Several companies could become M&A targets in the future – iSentek, NVE Corporation, Aceinna? Let’s wait and see!

Focus on current sensors – which sensor should be better for future BEVs?

Hall and xMR dies can be found in open-loop, close-loop, mounted, and integrated current sensors. So, what is the advantage of using a magnetic sensing technique for sensing current? - Galvanic isolation. When the current or voltage increases, a shunt's power consumption (and heat dissipation) and the cost of an isolated read-out IC stage increase dramatically. But one of the problem is that the sensing accuracy of Hall and xMR-based current sensors (indirect measurement with the impact of stray fields) is lower than that of shunts…

Closed loops and open loops use magnetic concentrators next to the chip to increase the sensing accuracy, but they are bulky and lead to a higher BoM. These sensors dominate high-power applications like photovoltaic inverters, charging stations, and traction inverters. Mounted solutions with shields and integrated solutions with current flowing inside the package exist in the market and offer several pros (including galvanic isolation, low footprint, and integration freedom) and cons (less accurate and influenced by stray fields). Several magnetic sensor players (Allegro Microsystems, TDK, and LEM) are investing to develop TMR-based current sensors. The chip’s sensitivity, large bandwidth, and ultra-low footprint make it a suitable candidate for current sensing. If the performance matches that of shunt current sensors, magnetic sensors could also replace shunts on lower-power applications like OBC or DC-DC.

Ablic, Aceinna, AKM, Allegro MicroSystems, Alps Alpine, ams OSRAM, Analog Devices, Angsemi, Bosch, Crocus Technology (now Allegro), Crosschip, Diodes, Honeywell, iCHaus, Infineon, Isentek, LEM, Littelfuse, Magnachip, Magnetfab, Melexis, MEMSIC, MultiDimension, Murata, Nicera Ceramics, Novosense, NVE Corporation, NXP, Orient Sensor, PNI, Polar Semiconductor, QST Technologies, Rohm, Sensitec (Sinomags), STMicroelectronics, TDK (TDK Japan and TDK Micronas), TE Connectivity, Texas Instruments, Tower Semiconductor, TSMC, Voltafield, Xfab, Yamaha, and more…

Report’s objectives

The objectives of this report are:

• To give an overview of magnetic sensor applications
  • Application description, sensor function, and key requirements.
• To provide market data on key magnetic sensor market metrics & dynamics
  • Magnetic sensor sales in units & in revenue by market segment, by application, by sensor function and by technology
  • Market share by player
• To provide key technical insight into future technology trends and challenges
  • What is the current status of Hall and xMR technologies?
  • What will the TMR technology market share be in 5 years ?
• To provide an in-depth understanding of the magnetic sensor value chain, infrastructure and players
  • Who are the magnetic sensor players (IDMs, foundries, fabless) and what is their market and technological position?
  • More generally, who are the key suppliers to watch and how will the magnetic sensor market evolve?

Key Features 

• 2019-2029 forecast for magnetic sensors (Hall and xMR) in volume and revenue
• 2019-2029 forecast by end-market and by function
• Market trends in e-mobility and EV DC charging infrastructure
• Market trends in consumer end-products
• Overview of innovation in the Industrial & Energy market
• Supply chain for magnetic sensors and market shares by end-market and by technology
• Technology comparison between Hall & xMR and traditional technologies, with a focus on current sensing
• Overview of TMR integration challenges

What’s new?

• Medical End-market (switches, latches being used in respirators, pacemakers, etc.)
• 2019-2029 forecast by end-market and by technology
• Market shares by technology (Hall & xMR)
• Market and Technology focus on current sensing