MEMS Sensors Gaining Momentum

A new study predicts automotive electronic stabilitycontrol (ESC) systems will rock the MEMS market in the next four years, nearlydoubling its revenue while forcing sensor makers to cut prices and addfeatures.

iSuppli Corp., a market intelligence firm,says ESC systems will soar to 47.7 million units in 2012, up from just23.1 million in 2007. Because the ESC systems need MEMS (microelectromechanicalsystems) sensors to detect yaw in vehicles, the firm says MEMS will see asimilar jump, reaching sales of $715 million by 2012, up from $378 million in2006.

The impetusfor the sudden rise in MEMS sales is a mandate from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationthat calls for all new light vehicles to adopt ESC by September 1, 2011. For automakers,compliance is gradual, starting with 55 percent of new vehicles in 2008 and climbingto 75 percent in 2009 and 95 percent in 2010, before reaching 100 percent in 2011.    

Even whilethe ESC phenomenon boosts the MEMS market, however, it will force MEMSmanufacturers into more fierce competition, the study suggests.

"ESC'stransition from an expensive, optional feature to a standard function in thespace of just a few years will yield openings for newcomers and pose threats toestablished second-tier suppliers," writes Richard Dixon, senior analyst forMEMS at iSuppli. "The huge and highly visible growth opportunity in ESC sensorswill make for an interesting battleground as prices are driven down byincreased competition, and tier-one suppliers gain a wider choice ofsuppliers."

MEMS sensormanufacturers have said in the past year they plan to add features totheir products while cutting costs. Many are creating sensor clusters thatcombine dual-axis accelerometers with MEMS-based gyroscopic sensors. Theclusters could enable the creation of modules that would provide common informationfor stability control systems, airbags, parking brakes and other automotive features.Most suppliers believe the integration of such systems will begin to gainmomentum over the next four years.

"The autoindustry is thinking that there may be multiple systems that need to draw oninertial measurements," says Dave Monk, MEMS automotive product manager forFreescale Semiconductor. "Electronic stability control could use it; airbagscould use it; even suspension systems could use it."