MEMS Industry: looking back at the last 20 years of innovation and growth

In addition to the market being driven by a growing number of devices and increased MEMS-enabled functionality, we expect to see a rise in market adoption of other devices that will fuel additional demand in the near future.

For example, MEMS microspeakers offer potential for their very small footprint but have typically not performed as well as legacy technology at low frequencies. As microspeaker companies start to improve the performance and achieve design wins – such as within TWS headphones and hearing aids – the volumes could push down the price such that they can compete with traditional speakers.

Furthermore, as emerging systems edge closer to mass adoption, we expect to see greater MEMS adoption.

For example, with the high-volume arrival of AR glasses in 2030, Yole Group expects MEMS micromirrors for LBS microprojection to act as a stop-gap solution (competing with LCoS) before microLEDs become viable.

Another noticeable trend is the transition from 8 to 12-inch MEMS manufacturing. While this involves a significant investment for MEMS players, it allows for better integration with 12-inch CMOS wafers and supports optimal equipment performance, such as for lithography and DRIE steps.

Though this report has existed in various iterations for 20 years now, the MEMS industry is still bringing disruptive technologies and applications to the table. To succeed in this industry, it is necessary to meet the market’s requirements: a growing total accessible market, a technology with an actual added value for specific applications, and enough funding and support to sustain fierce competition against an established industry. But with all these new players, technologies, and megatrends, the future of the MEMS industry looks bright!

The success of MEMS technologies is indisputable, and MEMS devices continue to be increasingly adopted in almost all markets.

In 2003, automotive was a major driver as more advanced safety features started to be incorporated into vehicles. Accelerometers used in airbags, gyroscopes for ESP systems, and the early adoption of pressure sensors for tire pressure monitoring were some of the first automotive applications for MEMS.

MEMS inkjet printheads from HP created significant demand around this time, surpassing automotive in terms of volume and sales: around US$1 billion, compared to US $800 million for automotive. However, one of the most symbolic MEMS devices in the early 2000s was Texas Instruments’ DLP for projection applications that created significant sales, about US$300 million, and Texas Instruments became an early market leader along with HP.

The arrival of the iPhone in 2007 and subsequent widespread adoption of smartphones caused a surge in MEMS demand in the consumer sector, which is the largest market today. Automatic screen rotation created early demand for accelerometers, and the introduction of more advanced smartphone features such as navigation assistance, step counting, and gaming further fueled the demand for inertial sensors. MEMS microphones also started to be used in smartphones – the Motorola Razr was one of the first adopters – and ended up as one of the most shipped MEMS devices in the industry. Microphones were the perfect example of how MEMS’ small size and low power consumption matched smartphone requirements.

A second wave in the consumer electronics industry started in 2016 and saw increased adoption of wearable devices, such as smartwatches and TWS headphones, which also boosted the MEMS industry. In addition to microphones that allow beamforming, inertial sensors were used in TWS headphones for bone conduction sensing, allowing perfect voice pick-up and 3D audio functionalities. This second consumer wave and subsequent surge in demand for inertial MEMS sensors allowed STMicroelectronics and Bosch to take the leading market positions from early leaders such as TI and HP, with revenues surpassing US$1 billion (STMicroelectronics) and nearly US$2 billion (Bosch) today. 

Pierre Delbos adds: “As we wait for the consumer market to breathe new life following the recent fall in smartphone demand, the automotive market is now leading growth in the MEMS industry. Automotive is being propelled by the electrification of cars and the introduction of autonomous driving, leading to the complete sensorization of vehicles.”

Indeed, even though more pressure sensors were used in an ICE car than in an electric vehicle, we expect other car domains to undergo massive transformation and reshuffle the needs for MEMS. Autonomous automotive functions are driving the adoption of MEMS inertial sensors, micromirrors, magnetometers, and more. MEMS oscillators are also increasingly being used to support the exchange of the ever-growing amount of data in the automotive sector and within telecommunications, particularly with the arrival of 5G.

MEMS technologies are well established in their target markets. But despite the maturity of MEMS components such as pressure sensors, inertial sensors, and microphones, notable innovation is taking place, allowing OEMs to optimize cost, size, and performance, further driving demand.

From the design and material standpoint, MEMS players are innovating to improve the performance of their devices. For example, Infineon Technologies sealed dual-membrane technology within Goertek’s MEMS microphone in Apple Airpods Pro significantly improves SNR performance.

By moving away from its single-back (2010) and dual-back (2014) designs to a sealed dual-membrane (2019) structure, water and dust are prevented from being trapped between the membrane and the backplate, enabling practically noise-free audio signal capturing (68-75dB(A)). In addition, Vesper’s mono-membrane design inside its MEMS piezoelectric microphone represents a radical technology shift, improving water- and dustproofing for better performance in applications that require high robustness and reliability. This possibly explains why the start-up seduced the 3^rd biggest MEMS player, Qualcomm.

But MEMS leaders are also innovating on the integration side. From 2015 to 2018, Bosch’s pressure sensors in the Apple iPhone moved from LGA packaging to an o-ring waterproof package, allowing Apple to improve durability. During this period, Bosch more than halved the size of the MEMS die, from 0.8mm² to 0.35mm², following an industry pattern to miniaturize. And from 2018 to 2023, iPhone pressure sensors had the same footprint but were packaged differently. Bosch’s 2023 BMPxxx v2 MEMS pressure sensor die in the latest iPhones, for example, is glued with an adhesive on the ASIC die, which is then glued onto the ceramic substrate, with the electrical connections using wire bondings. Previous versions used flip-chip bonding for the ASIC integration inside the package.

Bosch even came out with a new manufacturing technique! Its new laser reseal process significantly reduces pressure variation to maximize the performance of inertial sensors within the iPhone 14 Pro. While the process is three times more expensive than previous processes, it allows MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers to be integrated onto the same die, thus enabling further miniaturization of the sensor and better control of the vacuum level inside the cavity.

Stay tuned on yolegroup.com!

Pierre Delbos is a Technology & Market Analyst, Sensing and Actuating, in the Photonics & Sensing division at Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group.

He is involved in the development of technology and market reports covering MEMS & sensing technologies, including magnetic sensors, optical and audio MEMS, as well as gas and particle sensors.

He also collaborates with his team on custom studies for the key players in the MEMS industry.

Pierre holds a master’s in Microelectronics and Photonics Engineering from Grenoble Institute of Technology, PHELMA (France).

Pierre-Marie Visse is a Technology and Market analyst at Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group, working with the Photonics and Sensing division. He is a member of Yole Intelligence’s Sensing and Actuating team and contributes daily to the technical, marketing, and strategic analysis of various MEMS and sensing technologies.

Prior to Yole, Pierre-Marie served as an R&D project manager at eLichens, specializing in the detection of environmental gases, for 2.5 years. His primary focus was the development of gas sensors and IoT for gas detection.

Previously, Pierre-Marie worked at TDK-Tronics for more than ten years as an inertial MEMS designer for custom sensors, accelerometers, and gyroscopes. He then worked as an R&D project manager for the navigation, industrial, and watchmaking industries.

Pierre-Marie graduated from ESIEE-Engineering (France) in 2010, specializing in microsystems.

Khrystyna Kruk is a Manufacturing & Data Analyst at Yole SystemPlus, part of Yole Group.

With solid expertise in semiconductors, clean rooms & fabrication processes, Khrystyna works in the Semiconductor Devices Department, collecting and analyzing data on manufacturing processes, equipment, and materials through surveys, interviews, and publication research to improve the cost calculation of electronic device manufacturing.

Prior to Yole SystemPlus, Khrystyna worked at Assystem (Paris, France), where she was in charge of marketing analyses of international financial institutions for projects in the energy field and international business plan preparations.

Khrystyna holds a master’s degree in Nanoscience & Nanotechnology from Ecole Centrale de Lyon (France), a double degree in High Technology and Finance from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), and an MBA in International Business Management from IAE, University of Grenoble Alpes (France).

This article has been developed in collaboration with Jerome Mouly, Director, Photonic & Sensing division at Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group.