ST drops in 2014 MEMS ranking, says IHS
STMicroelectronics NV dropped to third position in ranking of MEMS vendors by 2014 sales, falling behind Texas Instruments, according to market research firm IHS. Bosch increased its lead in market, which it established in 2013.
The IHS ranking of MEMS suppliers for 2014 differs from that published by Yole Developpement – in which ST was ranked second – because it does not include foundry sales (see Bosch pulls ahead in 2014 MEMS top 30 ranking). Overall the annual MEMS market grew in 2014 by 5.7 percent to $9.46 billion, according to IHS.
Bosch #1
Bosch enjoyed a 16.6 percent increase in sales to $1167 million up from $1001 million in 2013 and held 12 percent of the fragmented MEMS market in 2014 compared to 11 percent in 2012.
Bosch took first place in 2013 thanks to design wins in the Apple iPhone 5s and iPad with its accelerometer. Apple boosted Bosch’s MEMS revenue in 2014 making it sole supplier of the pressure sensors added to the iPhone 6 and 6+. Bosch also enjoyed design wins with Sony for combination sensors.
Top 10 MEMS vendors in 2014 by revenue. Source: IHS.
Bosch’s MEMS revenue accounted for more than a third of the Robert Bosch GmbH total in 2014 compared to less than 18 percent in 2012, IHS said.
Bosch’s consumer success comes as an addition to the previously established penetration of its MEMS sensors into automotive. Bosch is the leader in automotive MEMS with 30 percent market share in 2014 and three times more revenue more than second largest automotive MEMS maker Denso.
Next: Microphone tales
Texas Instrument #2
Texas Instrument enjoyed a rebound of its Digital Light Processing business in 2014 with an estimated $805 million up from $709 million in 2013.
STMicroelectronics #3
ST’s MEMS business suffered a 19 percent decline in revenue to $630 million in 2014 from $777 million in 2013 to $630. ST is still the largest MEMS manufacturer for consumer and mobile applications with 15 percent of this segment. ST’s decline is due to losing design positions for inertial sensors in Apple and Samsung smartphones. However, IHS expects ST’s MEMS business to rebound in 2015 on the back of MEMS microphone sales into the iPhone 6 and in the iPad.
Top 10 MEMS vendors in 2014 by revenue. Source: IHS.
Knowles #5
Knowles Electronics, a leader in MEMS microphones, was another company that suffered in 2015. After enjoying 19 and 50 percent growth in 2012 and 2013, respectively, Knowles’ MEMS microphone sales declined by 9 percent in 2014 to $460 million. Early teardowns by IHS of the iPhone 6 and 6+ revealed that Knowles was present alongside ST and AAC in the first batch of iPhones. However, a technical defect forced Knowles to drop out of the supply chain, IHS said (see Knowles hit by MEMS microphone defect).
Knowles remains the second largest MEMS manufacturer for consumer and mobile applications with 12 percent revenue share and IHS said it believes that Knowles will resume with revenue growth in 2015 as it starts shipping to Apple again.
Next: the fastest growing top 10 MEMS company
BAW filters makers
Avago and TriQuint (now Qorvo) grew their MEMS sales by 6 and 15 percent respectively on the strength of BAW filter business. The LTE band is a boon for BAW filter makers, especially in the 2.3 to 2.7 GHz bands, as BAW devices perform better than SAW filters at these frequencies.
InvenSense # 8
InvenSense was the fastest growing company in the top 10 with a 34 percent jump in MEMS sales to $332 million. The vast majority of his jump comes from a win for its 6-axis motion combo sensor in the iPhone 6 and 6+.
Freescale # 10
Freescale saw its MEMS revenue grow 6 percent to $271 million in 2014. Freescale enjoyed especially a robust expansion of its pressure sensor sales for tire pressure monitoring applications.
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Bosch pulls ahead in 2014 MEMS top 30 ranking
Knowles hit by MEMS microphone defect
Bosch leads Yole’s 2013 MEMS market top 30 ranking
Apple design wins lift Bosch to top of MEMS ranking, says IHS
Yole predicts IC price pressure in IoT roadmap
Emerging MEMS to drive mergers, says Yole
MEMS will be made on 300mm wafers, says Bosch exec
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