






Sensors and actuators made with MEMS technology are forecast to grow by high double-digit percentages in the next several years after starting a recovery in 2H20, according to IC Insights.
Sales of semiconductor sensors and actuators made with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology are expected to grow about 16 percent in 2021 to a record-high $15.9 billion after an 11 percent increase in 2020 during the economic havoc caused by the Covid-19 virus pandemic and the automotive industry’s worst year in decades.
Recovery growth in MEMS-based sensor/actuator products surged in the second half of 2020 when manufacturers quickly began to refill inventories after seeing signs of stabilization and recovery in key end-use markets.
Between 2020 and 2025, sales of MEMS-based sensors and actuators are expected to increase by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.8 percent to $24.1 billion with shipments rising by a CAGR of 13.4 percent to 32.1 billion units (Figure 1), based on the O-S-D Report’s five-year forecast.
Around half of the semiconductor sensors and nearly all actuators sold each year contain tiny MEMS transducer structures and circuit functions to perform their jobs in end-use applications. In 2020, about 83 percent of sales in the total $16.5 billion sensor/actuator market came from devices built with MEMS technology. About 55 percent of the total 30.9 billion sensors and actuators shipped worldwide in 2020 contained MEMS, based on data in the O-S-D Report. Approximately 44 percent of sales in MEMS-based sensors and actuators are generated annually by automotive applications.
Total sales of MEMS-based pressure sensors, microphone chips, accelerometers, gyroscope devices, and actuators are expected to increase annually by double-digit percentages until 2024, when the next cyclical economic slowdown is expected to cut growth to 4 percent, followed by a modest 9 percent rebound in 2025.
For more information, please contact Rob Lineback, Senior Market Research Analyst at IC Insights. Phone: +1-817-731-0424 email: rob@icinsights.com