Analyst foresees 5 billion MEMS shipment in 2016

MEMS are becoming more ubiquitous as accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, altimeters, screens, projectors, and microphones continue to grow in smart phones, netbooks, media tablets, eReaders, games consoles and handheld gaming platforms. Strong growth will continue over the next five years such that, according to ABI Research, the MEMS will result in nearly five billion MEMS being shipped during 2016.

MEMS assist with navigation, dead reckoning, image stabilization and augmented reality. More than one MEMS can often be found in any given consumer device. They are also increasingly being used for new forms of display that use far less power than today's screen technologies.

"Initially, smartphones will provide the greatest boost to uptake," notes Peter Cooney, practice director, ABI Research. "But if OEMS embrace MEMS displays, they may deliver the strongest overall growth in revenue over time. ABI Research's MEMS market forecasts depend on device shipments growing as expected. At this point however, we are confident about the prospects for CE devices market growth."

The MEMS market has seven major vendors: STMicroelectronics, Asahi Kasei, InvenSense, Bosch, Knowles, Kionix, Freescale Semiconductor. Aside from the seven, there are a number of smaller vendors.

"Over time, competition in the MEMS market will result in falling ASPs," says Cooney. "Two of the larger vendors, Bosch and STMicroelectronics, have more diversified product offerings, taking shares across a number of applications. This positions them well to prosper as market conditions change, while other vendors continue to specialize. There is still room for new vendors with new products, however."