According to a new report titled ‘MEMS in Mobile’ from Juniper Research, the annual sales generated by MEMS devices such as RF, displays, audio and sensors used in mobile phones will surpass $6 billion by the fiscal year 2016, thanks to the growth in the mobile device market.
The report classifies the MEMS devices into three different categories. First category is devices that are already deployed such as gyroscopes, magnetometers and accelerometers and second category is devices that are currently in their early stages of deployment such as microphones, pressure sensors, RF devices and displays. Third category is upcoming applications such as pico-projectors, speakers, humidity and temperature sensors, and joysticks.
The report identifies that the adoption of inertial sensors such as magnetometers, gyroscopes and accelerometers is mainly relying on the capability and availability of navigation and gaming applications, thus becoming common in all types of mobile devices, especially in tablets and smartphones. Another driving factor for MEMS sensors is the rise in mobile device shipments.
The comprehensive report also emphasizes the market potential of other MEMS devices such as RF components and microphones in mobile devices. Since device vendors are anticipated to distinguish themselves to add multiple microphones and with high-quality audio input, the total count of MEMS microphones to be shipped for use in mobile devices will surpass 2 billion in 2016. The recent high-volume manufacturing deals in RF MEMS indicate that MEMS RF devices will be used in most of the wireless products.