Revenue for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) pressure sensors will reach to $1.85b by 2014, according to a report from IHS.
The report, IHS iSuppli MEMS & Sensors Market Tracker, said growth this year will be more modest at 6.6%, but it predicted a double-digit growth for 2012.
In 2010, pressure sensors stood at second place in terms of revenue among all MEMS devices by generating $1.22b in revenue, up 26% from 2009, driven by a strong automotive industry recovery.
Pressure sensors will become the leading microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device by 2014 due to their relatively high prices and increasing usage in automotive, medical and industrial applications.
IHS senior analyst for MEMS and sensors Richard Dixon said the rapid growth of pressure sensors means that these devices will trump even the ubiquitous accelerometers and gyroscopes so popular now in the MEMS space.
About 72% of share of MEMS pressure sensors revenue in 2010 came from the automotive sector, followed by medical electronics at 11% and the industrial segment at 10%, while the remaining is split between consumer electronics and military-aerospace, the report said.
In the automotive sector, MEMS pressure sensors are used as leading application in engine management, while in the medical market, pressure sensors are used mostly as low-cost disposable devices for catheters employed in surgical operations.
The IHS report said MEMS pressure sensors could act as an altimeter for location-based services indoors for high-end smartphones in future.
