PiezoMEMS Technologies 2025

Key Features

• The latest updates on MEMS market volumes, ASPs, and revenues for the calendar year 2024
• An overview of the wafer production levels by wafer size, technologies, fab, locations, etc.
• A detailed view of ecosystem development in terms of both products and funding and the main stakeholders involved

What's new

• 2020-2030 forecast by end-market, by technology and by device
• Updated market shares for all devices
• Wafer start analysis (by fab, technology, etc.)

Product's objectives

This report is an update to Yole Intelligence’s 2019 report “Piezoelectric Devices From Bulk to Thin-Film”

This new version provides:

• The latest updates on piezoMEMS market volumes, ASPs, and revenues for the calendar year 2024. It provides an overview of the most promising growth opportunities in the piezoMEMS industry
• An overview of the wafer production levels by wafer size, technologies, fab, locations, etc.
• A detailed analysis of piezoMEMS market shares and a foundry business analysis are included, giving a comprehensive overview of the piezoMEMS ecosystem and development.
• A broad overview of piezoMEMS technologies from material to the end application and a comparison of these different materials.

This report thoroughly summarizes the state of the piezoMEMS industry as of 2024, taking into account the trends for each device/application. The report was finalized at the end of January 2025 and, as such, uses the best and latest data available.

PiezoMEMS Outpace Overall MEMS Market Growth

The piezoMEMS sector stands out as a dominant segment within the broader MEMS industry, driven primarily by its strong presence in the consumer electronics market.

The piezoMEMS market is expected to experience robust growth, outpacing the broader MEMS industry’s 5% growth rate. This growth reflects increasing diversification and innovation within piezoMEMS applications, signaling significant opportunities for the future.

On the sensor side, piezo materials such as AlN (Sc-doped or not) are being used to produce high-performance microphones and voice accelerometers. Only time will tell whether the technology’s added value justifies its higher price point.

On the actuation side, the bulk of the market currently consists of inkjet printing, with flat sales projected. However, significant growth is expected in the microspeaker market, as the reduced thickness of piezo-material speakers enables size optimization for end systems such as TWS earbuds, hearing aids, and headsets.

On the transducer side, volumes are primarily driven by ultrasonic fingerprint sensors, which are mostly used in smartphones. While the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor market declined over the past two years due to a downturn in the consumer electronics sector, growth has recently returned.

Finally, on the filter side, market dynamics appear to be driven by performance and cost. Innovations in high-performance BAW SMR/FBAR filters (such as XBAR/XBAW) offer promising bandwidth and quality performance. The penetration of these technologies is expected to increase in the future, particularly within the UHB segment.

The piezoMEMS ecosystem is getting ready for the next wave

The thin-film piezoelectric MEMS industry has evolved significantly over the decades.In 2024, RF MEMS players such as Broadcom and Qorvo continue to dominate the overall piezoMEMS market. The PZT market is primarily driven by Epson, the market leader in piezoMEMS inkjet printheads. Meanwhile, Qualcomm and Goodix are competing head-to-head in the PVDF market for ultrasonic fingerprint sensors.

The value that piezoelectric technologies bring to end-users can be substantial, depending on the application. This explains the proliferation of piezoMEMS projects and the steady introduction of new products to the market. Foundries and manufacturers are pushing boundaries further by accelerating development timelines through innovative business models and strategic partnerships. Initiatives such as the A.M. Fitzgerald/MEMS Infinity partnership and STMicroelectronics' collaboration with A*STAR’s lab-in-fab are significantly reducing time-to-market and fostering the development of cutting-edge technologies.

With innovation accelerating at an unprecedented pace, the piezoMEMS industry is shaping the future of technology—one breakthrough at a time.

Material science remains the heart of piezoMEMS R&D

Piezoelectricity has been utilized for nearly a century, driving the development and optimization of numerous materials for a wide range of applications. However, only a limited subset of these materials is suitable for thin-film miniaturization in semiconductor fabrication processes.

Among these, thin-film piezoelectric materials exhibit varying crystal structures and physical properties that influence their piezoelectric behavior and functionality. Consequently, specific materials are tailored to distinct applications:

• Sensing and Filtering: Aluminum Nitride (AlN) is the standard material widely used in sensors (e.g., microphones, inertial sensors) and RF filtering technologies such as BAW SMR and BAW FBAR. Advances in AlN include scandium doping, which has significantly enhanced its piezoelectric coefficient, and the adoption of innovative deposition methods like Lam Research’s Pulsus equipment (Pulsed Laser Deposition).
• Actuating: PZT remains the standard material for actuators, including inkjet printheads, optical MEMS, and microspeakers, due to its high piezoelectric coefficients. PZT has been a cornerstone in bulk piezoelectric transducers (e.g., sonars, ultrasonic sensors) for decades. Deposition techniques for PZT include sol-gel and sputtering, with sol-gel offering cost efficiency but lower scalability.
• Transducing: The piezoelectric materials market is experiencing significant investment as developers seek to optimize materials for transducer applications. Al(Sc)N developers are enhancing actuation capabilities (e.g., TDK’s Chirp), while PZT innovators are advancing sensing performance (e.g., EXO Imaging’s medical imaging chip). The future of these materials remains uncertain: Will Al(Sc)N achieve sufficient performance for emission applications? Will PZT face increasing regulatory pressures due to its lead content? Or will new materials, such as KNN and LiNbO3, redefine the landscape?

Glossary

Definitions

Report objectives

Identity card

What we got right vs. what we got wrong

3-page summary

Executive summary

Context

• Piezoelectricity
• Piezoelectric materials
• Applications landscape

Market forecasts

• First level packaging
  • Forecasts by end-market
  • Forecasts by device
  • Forecasts by piezoelectric material
• Wafer / panel level
  • Wafer / panel start by material
  • Wafer / panel start by device

Market trends

• Piezoelectric sensors
• Piezoelectric actuators
• Piezoelectric transducers
• Piezoelectric filters

Market shares & Supply Chain

• Supply chain by device
• Wafer foundries with piezoelectric capabilities
• Market shares by piezoelectric materials
• New business models in the industry

Technology trends

• Reminder of the key metrics for a piezoelectric material
• AlN and Al(Sc)N
• PZT
• Other piezoelectric materials (KNN, LiNbO3)

Outlook

About the Yole Group

A*STAR, AAC Technologies, ACM, Airthings, Akoustis, AMFitzgerald, Applied Materials, Arlo, audiopixels, Bosch (+ Arioso Systems), Broadcom, CEA Léti, EPFL, Epic MEMS, Epson, Evatec, eXo Imaging, FESTO, Fortemedia, Fraunhofer IPMS, Fujifilm Dimatix, GIS, Global Foundries, Goermicro, Goodix, Hionix, Honeywell, IMEC, Infineon, Knowles, LAM Research, Lelantos, MEMS Infinity, MEMS Sensing, MEMSonic, Micromo, Misfit, Mitsubishi Materials, MSE Supplies, Murata, MyVox, Panasonic, PoLight, Qorvo, Qualcomm (+ Vesper), Renesas, Ricoh, Rohm Semiconductor, Silex Microsystems, Silicon Austria Labs, Silicon Sensing Systems, Silterra, Sintef, Skywater, Skyworks, SMEI, SonicEdge, Sonion, SPTS, Stanley, STMicroelectronics, Sumitomo Chemicals, Sumitomo Precision Products (SPP), Suss Microtec, Taiyo Yuden, TDK InvenSense, Technics, TSMC, UltraSense Systems, ULVAC, Umicore, University of Twente, UNT, USound, Vesper, VIS, VTT, X-FAB, xMEMS, Zilltek and more.