STMicroelectronics’ Executive Vice President and General Manager for MEMS and Sensors Group, Benedetto Vigna will present a keynote speech at the SEMICON Taiwan 2012 MEMS Forum, which will be conducted on September 6, 2012, at TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.
In his keynote speech, Vigna will discuss the key factors of STMicroelectronics’ dominance and the latest MEMS trends in the market for smart phones and tablets. The widespread adoption of motion-sensing applications in smart phones and gaming platforms is driving the advancement of MEMS technology, products and applications.
Yole Développement predicts that the MEMS market will continue to grow at 13% CAGR in revenues and 20% CAGR in units over the next six years. According to Yole, MEMS will grow to an $11 billion market in 2012 and will reach $21 billion by 2017.
Vigna informed that STMicroelectronics is a major provider of MEMS sensors for use in consumer and portable applications, supplying a variety of compasses, gyroscopes, accelerometers, pressure sensors, microphones, as well as combinations of motion sensors in a single package. There are more innovative products in the pipeline and MEMS pico-projector is one such example that the company is designing for use in tablets and smart phones. The company and Microsoft have teamed up for the development of a motion-and-orientation human interface device sensor solution that runs on the Windows 8 operating system. Moreover, the company provides a custom driver for the forthcoming Windows 8.
STMicroelectronics recently acquired the intellectual property of bTendo, an Israeli start-up company. This acquisition will facilitate STMicroelectronics to spur the development of embedded miniature projectors in advanced portable consumer devices. The company has so far sold over 2.5 billion motion sensors. Moreover, the company’s MEMS are extensively utilized for implantable devices, for free-fall protection in laptop hard-disk drives, and for car infotainment and enhanced navigation. The company is also working on the development of MEMS devices for automotive applications such as tire pressure monitors and airbags.