MEMS pressure sensor is one of the very first MEMS components appearing in the microsystem world. The technologies are quite mature and the market is big and expected to grow from $1.9B in 2012 to $3B in 2018.
“MEMS pressure sensor for consumer applications, especially for smartphones and tablets, is following the model of accelerometers and gyroscopes. Adoption of this model will help the MEMS pressure sensor market to boom again! We believe, this huge opportunity will result in the global volume of the MEMS pressure sensor market hitting 2.8 billion units by 2018” said Wenbin Ding, technology and market analyst at Yole Développement.”Consumer pressure sensor will represent 1.7 billion units and will overtake automotive as the market leader in volume.”
Even though the consumer application has a much lower ASP than other applications, this promising segment will bring more than 8% CAGR to the global MEMS pressure sensor market.
In their report, Yole Développement provides a global overview of the current MEMS pressure sensor technologies, market and competitive landscape. The covered industries in the MEMS pressure sensor 2013 report are automotive, industrial, medical applications, consumer electronics and high-end (aeronautic, military, defense) applications.
Automotive applications are still dominating the MEMS pressure sensor market. TPMS, MAP and BAP will be the biggest sub applications in this field. Automotive, medical, industrial and high-end markets are growing 4% to 7% however the consumer market is growing 25% in value (38% in volume) because of new opportunities in smartphones and tablets.
MEMS pressure sensor finds new applications in each domain, for example: in-cylinder pressure sensing for consumer applications.
MEMS technologies are still gaining market share compared to other classic technologies
MEMS pressure sensors are showing advantages compared to other current technologies, such as ceramic thick-film, ceramic capacitive and thin-film technologies. Yole Développement has carried out an in-depth analysis of the applicable range of technologies and classified them based on the requirements of the major applications.
Technologies like thin-film are still needed for use in harsh environments, particularly with high temperatures and corrosive medias. MEMS pressure sensor manufacturers are also working on components which could be used in these environments. The status of SiC MEMS pressure sensor development is also described in the report.
Yole Développement analysis provides an overview of other existing pressure sensor technologies. Comparisons of different MEMS technologies are done in order to better understand the positioning of MEMS pressure sensors in the global market.
Fragmented market with more than 50 players involved
Since the MEMS pressure sensor market is huge, Yole Développement is not surprised to see a large number of players in this industry. It is one of the most fragmented markets.
More than 50 worldwide players are involved. The top 5 players (Bosch, Denso, Sensata, GE Sensing and Freescale) represent about 50% of the total market. Automotive, medical, industrial, and high-end markets already have their mature leaders and smaller companies following. The consumer electronics market is still emerging with some conventional MEMS sensor companies interested.
Yole’s report also includes a focus on the competition in the automotive market. Lots of companies are targeting this industry. Bosch has always dominated this sector. The supply chain of the automotive industry is complicated with different types of players: Car Manufacturers, Tier1 Automotive Part & Systems Suppliers (related to Pressure Sensors), Full Package Sensors Specialists and MEMS & Semiconductor Specialists. This section of the report includes a detailed description at each level of the value chain and gives an in-depth supply chain analysis for the automotive market.
With new opportunities appearing in consumer electronics, new comers from the USA and China are targeting this segment. Yole Développement also follows the activities of some new Chinese challengers. Local Chinese companies are making an effort to try and fulfill the huge domestic demand in automotive and consumer applications.