Consumer, wireless MEMS market set to grow amid downturn, says iSuppli

Defying the downturn in the overall electronics industry, the market for micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) used in consumer electronics and wireless products is expected to generate 6.4% growth in 2009, according to iSuppli.

Global consumer and wireless MEMS revenues will amount to US$1.24 billion in 2009, up from US$1.17 billion in 2008, iSuppli forecast. This contrasts sharply with the 23% decline in overall semiconductor revenues expected in 2009, and also flies in the face of the predicted 8.2% and 13.1% drops in consumer electronics and wireless equipment revenues for the year, iSuppli indicated.

"On the consumer side, gyroscopes are helping to drive the growth of MEMS, with revenues rising at a CAGR of 18% from 2008 to 2013," said Jeremie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst for MEMS at iSuppli. "These devices are used in products including controllers for video game consoles. As the market for multi-axis gyroscopes develops and these components hit target insertion prices, the market will accelerate for gaming and will pick up for cell phone camera image stabilization as early as 2010."

On the wireless side, growth is being driven by MEMS accelerometers for mobile phones, iSuppli said. Owing to the essential role they play in the user interfaces of popular smartphones like Apple's iPhone and Palm's Pre, accelerometers are expected to appear in one-third of mobile phones shipped in 2010, up from one-fifth in 2009, according to iSuppli.

In such smartphones, accelerometers support features like screen-orientation adjustment when the handset is turned to the side. These capabilities now are spreading beyond smartphones to other types of handsets, iSuppli observed.

Other MEMS products experiencing fast growth in the wireless market include bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters used in CDMA and UMTS phones, whose unit shipments grew faster than 50% in first-half 2009, iSuppli indicated. However, the downside of this fast unit growth is rapid price erosion. The research firm noted that accelerometers in mobile phones now sell for 25% to 30% less than one year ago, as suppliers that are the most aggressive on pricing are gaining the largest market share.

The MEMS microphone market will experience its first annual drop in revenues in 2009, but will recover to double-digit annual growth rates starting in 2010, according to iSuppli. Other MEMS devices of note are RF MEMS switches and varactors, which should go into production for mobile phones in the fourth quarter of 2009 or in the first quarter of 2010.

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