MEMS market to grow 75-87% over five-year period, says report

MEMS market to grow 75-87% over five-year period, says report
By Semiconductor Business News
January 21, 2002 (2:05 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20020121S0026

LAS VEGAS -- The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) market is expected to grow 75%-to-86.7% over a five-year period, thereby creating new business opportunities and jobs in this emerging sector, according to a report from the MEMS Industry Group (MIG) here today.

The MEMS market is expected to grow from a $2-to-$5 billion industry in 2000, to an $8-to-$15 billion business by 2004, according to MIG, based in Pittsburgh. MIG, a trade association that represents the U.S. MEMS industry, is currently comprised of 22 member companies, including Corning IntelliSense, Honeywell, Intel, and Xerox.

The report, released today at MEMS 2002, the 15th annual IEEE International Conference on Microelectromechanical Systems, also estimates there are 1.6 MEMS devices per person today in the U.S. By 2004, that number is expected to grow to nearly 5 per person--a compound annual growth rate of 45%, according to the report.

MEMS makes use of a new fabrication process that enables the development of tiny components and IC devices. MEMS-based chips, which have a top layer of mechanical devices such as mirrors or fluid sensors, are used to make pressure, temperature, chemical and vibration sensors, light reflectors and switches as well as accelerometers for airbags, pacemakers, games, and other products.

"The U.S. MEMS industry is experiencing phenomenal growth, change and success," said Ken Gabriel, co-director of MIG and professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. "MEMS will soon contribute to every aspect of our daily life, from palm-sized high-definition projection displays to grain-of-rice size implantable medical devices," he said.