▲MEMS and sensors used in smart glasses (Source: STMicroelectronics)
Higher performance possible in industry, medical, and automotive
High-precision, miniaturization, light weight, and low power consumption are essential
As the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) increases in our daily lives, including in home appliances, automobiles, and homes, the electronic components that make up the IoT are becoming more precise, miniaturized, and power-efficient.
At the recent MEMS&Sensor Forum 2022 hosted by SEMI, STMicroelectronics Vice President David Bruno said that the convergence of technology and life is leading to a fusion of the digital and physical domains, and the importance of microelectronic components and sensors to realize this is increasing.
VP Bruno said that MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) equipped with MCUs are enabling the Internet of Things through ICs and cloud connectivity, and sensors are enabling higher performance in industrial, medical, and automotive sectors.
In the case of smart glasses, as VP Bruno mentioned, a single product is composed of various MEMS and sensors, such as MEMS speakers, MEMS motion sensors, ambient light sensors, cameras, MEMS mirrors, and MEMS microphones.
These IoT products perform a variety of functions:It is realizing Onlife, which is a fusion of digital and physical domains.
To realize OnLife, a single product will be equipped with dozens of electronic components such as MEMS and sensors.
This trend is the same not only in small IoT products but also in automobiles.
According to Pierre Delbos of market research firm Yole Developpement, MEMS and sensors are also growing rapidly in the automotive sector, including in connectivity, electrification, intelligent driving assistance, and monitoring.
For MEMS, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% from USD 2.22 billion in 2021 to USD 3.38 billion in 2027, and for magnetic centers, it is expected to increase at a CAGR of 10% from USD 1.7 billion in 2021 to USD 2.99 billion in 2027.
In particular, MEMS and sensors are creating new growth opportunities in intelligent driving assistance and autonomous driving. MEMS mirrors are realizing AR in automobiles. Additionally, cameras, lidar, radar, etc. are essential for safety and autonomous driving, and their usage is increasing.
In order to realize Onlife in this way, the use of electronic components such as MEMS and sensors is increasing, and the development of products tailored to the optimal requirements for application to each device is required.
First of all, since a large number of components must be used in small electronic products, each electronic component must be extremely small, lightweight, and low-power to increase the product's energy efficiency.
Above all, because dozens of electronic components are integrated into a single product, the development of integrated products that integrate multiple components into a single component is rapidly taking place, and the development of software to organically operate applications is also becoming important.
An industry insider said, “MEMS and sensors are opening the era of on-life through technology that is always-on and always-connected,” adding, “In line with this trend, we are actively developing products that have high output accuracy and can extend runtime with low power consumption.”
▲MEMS and sensor market outlook (Source: Yole Development)
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