MEMS, Microfluidics and Microsystems Executive Review

MEMS Industry Challenges and Trends

We recently spoke with Karen Lightman, the Managing Director of MEMS Industry Group about her views on the current activities in the MEMS industry as well as latest developments in her organization.

The year of the 8-inch MEMS fab

by Jérémie Bouchaud, Wicht Technologie Consulting

Eight-inch MEMS fabs are hardly anything new. In revenue terms, a major part of the MEMS market has been processed on 8-inch lines since 2001, when Texas Instruments moved to 200 mm production. For many years, though, TI was the only significant manufacturer and the opportunity for equipment and wafer suppliers was limited.  Since 2005, a handful of companies have joined the 8-inch group; these are Hewlett Packard, STMicroelectronics, EPCOS and foundries Dalsa, DNP and tMt.  And indeed WTC estimates that in 2006 around 16% of the revenue generated by the MEMS market was produced from activity on 8-inch lines.

So what will the future bring? WTC believes that 2008 will be a transition year and expects the 8-inch revenue share of the MEMS market to more than double from $1.4 billion this year to $3.5 billion in 2011. This represents a growth of 16% to 31% in the same time. The revenue growth will accelerate in 2009 and 2010 as a number of new 8-inch MEMS fabs become operational.

Fundraising for MEMS and semiconductor startups

Many successful startup companies need funding to succeed.  We recently spoke with Jeff Hilbert, EVP of Development and co-founder of WiSpry, about his experiences with the fundraising process and commercialization of MEMS technologies.  Mr. Hilbert has raised over $54 million in venture capital and debt financing to fund two of his semiconductor startups and has authored a chapter in a recently published book Semiconductor Venture Capital Best Practices.

Prospects for MEMS in the automotive industry

by Richard Dixon and Jérémie Bouchaud, Wicht Technologie Consulting

The automotive sector has long been a growth market for MEMS sensors.  However, the industry continues to change and face new opportunities and challenges -- regulations, saturation in some applications and price erosion issues, to name a few.

Today's high-end vehicles feature up to 100 different sensors.  About 30 these are now MEMS.  The market is made up of accelerometers, gyroscopes and inclinometers as well as pressure and flow sensors.  Emerging applications include IR sensors for air quality, microscanners for displays and, further out, MEMS oscillators and energy scavengers for TPMS.

Ranking of top MEMS companies

by Jérémie Bouchaud, Wicht Technologie Consulting

WTC has updated its MEMS market data with a global bottom-up survey of the top 30 MEMS companies.  WTC identified and interviewed over 60 major organizations during February and March 2007 regarding their current MEMS revenues, products, applications and views of the major changes in the industry.  The results are a combination of publicly available figures and validated estimates based on shipments and average selling prices.

Can MEMS resonators compete with quartz?

Startup companies such as SiTime, Discera, Silicon Clocks and Mobius Microsystems are now going after the $4 billion electronic oscillator market with their innovative alternatives to the traditional quartz based components.  We recently spoke with Kurt Petersen, founder and CEO of SiTime, about the company's latest developments as well as their technological approach, competitive advantages and strategy to tap into this lucrative market.

Freescale looks to expand its MEMS product portfolio

Freescale Semiconductor has been a major player in the MEMS industry with its automotive sensors business and, more recently, with its growing portfolio of consumer MEMS based applications.  We recently spoke with Dave Monk, Automotive Operations Manager for the Sensors and Actuators Solutions Division at Freescale, about his company's current MEMS related products as well as business prospects and trends for the future.

MEMS and nano from a VC's perspective

Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a Menlo Park venture capital firm, has been actively investing in “small tech” startups and currently has approximately 20 MEMS and nanotech companies in their portfolio.  We recently spoke with Warren Packard, Managing Director at DFJ, who currently oversees a number of the firm's micro and nano portfolio companies.

MEMS commercialization: from prototype to mass production

Minimizing time to market and efficiently transitioning products from R&D to production is a vital element for success in the MEMS industry.  We recently spoke with Henne van Heeren, founder of EnablingM3, a consulting company with a focus on MEMS commercialization, about transition costs, possible pitfalls and tips to ensure that the process goes smoothly.

MEMS packaging: history and current trends

MEMS packaging has traditionally been especially challenging because nearly every process and device require a unique approach.  We recently spoke with Dr. Ken Gilleo, President of ET-Trends, a consulting and intellectual property firm focused on emerging technologies and device packaging.