The worldwide market for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) was $5.

publicité

1 billion in 2005 and is set to grow to $6.0 billion in 2006 (+17,6%) and to $9.7 billion in 2010, according to Yole Developpement (Lyon, France). Due to MEMS growth now moving to consumer applications where there is low pricing, competition and price erosion, and the diminishing significance of industrial applications, the growth rate at 15% is lower than the previous years in term of revenue. However, with consumer electronics come large numbers and the MEMS market’s unit growth will be higher, close to 20 percent over the same period.

Yole says that all 50 of the top 50 semiconductor companies are now involved in MEMS manufacturing or development.

The largest application area at present is the inkjet print head which is already being rivaled by optical MEMS (MOEMS), used for optical multiplexing. Both sectors were worth over $1 billion in 2005 and while inkjet heads will enjoy steady growth to $2 billion in 2010, MOEMS will grow even faster to approach $3 billion in annual sales in 2010, according to Yole. RF MEMS and silicon microphones should enjoy strong growth, each getting close to $1 billion in annual market in 2010.