Sensor/Actuator Sales Forecast to Grow Twice as Fast as ICs

IC Insights: New MEMS-based designs expand emphasis from automotive to other applications.

The global market for solid-state sensors and actuators remains relatively small when compared to other major semiconductor product categories. However, the sensor/actuator market is forecast to grow at double the rate of integrated circuit (IC) sales . In fact, the sensor/actuator market is poised to become the fastest growing semiconductor segment this decade.

Historically, sensors have been mostly used in automotive applications, but new low-cost devices are being aimed at consumer portable products, communications, and industrial systems. 37% of sensor/actuator sales in 2010 will go into automotive applications as compared to more than 50% early in this decade.

With sales totaling $4.5 billion in 2005, the sensor/actuator market is expected to increase at a cumulative average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% between now and 2010. In contrast, IC sales are forecast to increase at a CAGR of 11% during the same five-year period. By 2010, sensor/actuator sales will reach nearly $12 billion compared to $320 billion for mainstream ICsThe sensor/actuator market is forecast to grow 26% to $5.7 billion (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

About 80% of sensors/actuators employ microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology to perform transducer functions. Solid-state sensors are designed to measure changes in temperature, pressure, acceleration (or inertia), and other forces of physics, while actuators are used to manipulate physical action, such as printing ink on paper, reflecting light in displays, or dispensing medicine in humans.

Texas Instruments and Hewlett-Packard as number one and two, respectively, among the top 10 sensor/actuator suppliers in 2005. TI sells micro-mirror display devices, while HP is the leader in MEMS-based ink-jet print heads. In third place, Robert Bosch of Germany continued to be the world's largest supplier of solid-state sensors in 2005. Rounding out IC Insights' top 10 sensor/actuator list are: Honeywell, Infineon, Seiko Epson, Freescale, GE-NovaSensor, Omron, and Analog Devices. O-S-D Report

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