Today, MEMS devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives, though their existence is often overlooked. Their applications range from microphones in headphones to inertial sensors used for stabilizing industrial antennas. According to Yole Group's "2025 MEMS Industry Status Report," the MEMS device market is projected to reach 35 billion units by 2030, with revenue reaching $19.2 billion, and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7% from 2024 to 2030.

As the year draws to a close, it's the perfect time to review the innovative development of the MEMS field. This mature industry has not slowed down; instead, it continues to demonstrate new levels of innovation, technological improvements, and competitive advantages. From cutting-edge microphone architectures to next-generation timing devices and high-performance automotive sensors, MEMS technology is quietly but firmly reshaping the systems we rely on in our daily lives.

What lies beyond the chip? How do design choices, process innovations, and cost dynamics drive the enhancement of the cutting-edge value of MEMS? And what do these advancements reveal about the future direction of the industry?

MEMS industry

While the MEMS industry is quite mature, technology continues to evolve and innovate.

Recently, analysts at Yole Group discovered a new hermetically sealed dual-diaphragm XSENSIVE™ microphone design, developed by Infineon Technologies and used in Goertek products.

In this structure, water and dust are prevented from accumulating between the diaphragm and the backplate, thus achieving noise-reduced frequency acquisition with a signal-to-noise ratio ranging from 68 to 75 dB(A).

Starting with the iPhone 16, Apple products have integrated this new microphone. It consists of MEMS, ASIC, and IPD capacitor chips, while the older version only contained MEMS and ASIC chips.

The new MEMS chip has an area of 2.10 mm², compared to 2.89 mm² in the previous design, a 27% reduction in area. The new MEMS design increases the size of the vent holes on the diaphragm and adds a baffle valve, while also changing the layer thickness and surface feature layout, such as columnar connections, anti-adhesion bumps, and electrodes.

SiTime released its Symphonic™ SiT30100 clock generator, a device based on a MEMS resonator that provides four clock outputs. It has replaced the traditional quartz technology in the iPhone 16e and 17 Air and works with Apple's C1 modem. This device is housed in a 10-pin chip-scale package with an area of only 2.22 square millimeters, enabling higher integration density.

MEMS-based resonator

The SiT30100 integrates a MEMS-based resonator and an ASIC chip. Unlike previous SiTime devices, this Bosch-manufactured MEMS resonator utilizes AlN piezoelectric thin-film technology. It employs SiTime's EpiSeal™ process, which allows for hermetically sealed packaging of the resonator during wafer fabrication, eliminating the need for ceramic packaging.

In fact, Melexis Technologies NV has introduced an automotive-grade MEMS absolute pressure sensor based on Triphibian™ technology. This sensor is designed to operate in both liquid and gaseous states and is suitable for electric vehicle thermal management and HVAC-R systems.

The MLX90834 is housed in an SOIC-16 package, measuring 10.4 mm × 10.3 mm × 2.3 mm. It integrates a slim MEMS chip that is suspended within the package and exposed to the environment for improved levitation efficiency, and a packaged ASIC chip connected via epoxy-protected wire bonding.

This sensor employs a Wheatstone bridge located near the diaphragm, consisting of a set of orthogonal piezoresists, which improves measurement accuracy by compensating for temperature gradients and nonlinear stresses. Furthermore, the design integrates virtual circuitry and baffles to prevent damage to conductive lines and epoxy resin seepage into the sensing area.

Although MEMS devices have been widely available in the mass market for many years, innovation continues to flourish, constantly improving performance to meet increasingly demanding application requirements.

What we see today - including new architectures, new materials, smarter integration, and superior performance - is just the beginning of a broader transformation. As MEMS devices expand into emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, data centers, robotics, and advanced mobile technologies, they will play an increasingly important strategic role in shaping the technologies of the future.

Source: Compiled from yole

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