The MEMS industry is expected to exceed the $22 billion mark five years from now, growing annually at about 9% between 2021 and 2027, says Yole Developpement

MEMS players’ revenue grew by 17% YoY, up from $11.5B in 2020 to ~$13.6B in 2021

Bosch continues to be the MEMS leader, with an exceptional business and growth followed by Broadcom, Qorvo and ST.

2021 revenues were driven by the continuous sensorization of both consumer and automotive applications and advances in the medical and industrial end markets and associated applications.

The ASPs of some MEMS devices, such as inertial and pressure MEMS, increased slightly in 2021 due to the chip shortage and global allocation problems, creating additional revenue growth in the market.

The top-10 players have not changed drastically in the past couple of years: Bosch, Broadcom, STMicroelectronics, Qorvo, TDK, Goermicro, Texas Instruments, HP, Infineon, Knowles, etc.

But there is a long tail of other smaller specialized MEMS players, also poised to enjoy growth owing to emerging MEMS devices and applications: SiTime, USound, xMEMS, OQmented, Sensirion, etc…

Of the total revenue, $570 million in 2020 and $690 million in 2021 were generated by players offering foundry services to fabless companies and those IDMs that cannot fulfill 100% of sensor manufacturing internally.

Until a couple of years back, the top MEMS foundries had little revenue (typically less than $60 million). Now, as new companies sprout with an appetite for outsourced MEMS manufacturing, MEMS foundries are reaping the fruits, growing their revenues strongly. Silex, Teledyne MEMS, and TSMC are part of this segment.

Ensuing the unprecedented demand for MEMS sensors, MEMS players are currently investing in new production fabs: Bosch, SilTerra, Silan Microelectronics (160kwpy), FormFactor.

Increasing capacity is currently the general trend in the semiconductor domain following the chip shortage, and the equipment market is fully saturated with high equipment prices and >15 months’ delivery times.

Acquiring MEMS businesses from other companies may be an option. Yole Intelligence’s analysts identified several significant examples: Silex acquired Elmos’ 200mm wafer line, and Mitsumi acquired Omron’s MEMS business… In parallel, Bosch announced the construction of a 300mm MEMS line that will open in 2026 to consolidate its leading position.

But what should we expect in 2022 and beyond? Well, currently, the market is driven by three forces:

* A strong demand for MEMS, with some MEMS foundries’ schedules already filled to end-2023.

* Decreasing margins because of higher operating costs due to the current microeconomic and macroeconomic situation leading to an increase in ASP across some MEMS devices.

* And future inventory over-stocking by integrators stockpiling chips (among them MEMS), potentially leading to a downturn in MEMS players’ activities in 2023 and later.

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved