Jun 16 2010
Hewlett-Packard was able to retain its ranking as the microelectromechanical (MEMS) sensors’ top producer in 2009 under the fabless firms and semiconductor Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDM) category. Texas Instruments in second position and maintaining its second rank in 2008, according to the iSuppli Corp.
In a similar fashion, Bosch and Canon also maintained their respective 2008’s third and fourth positions in 2009. Other companies in this fabless and IDM category who performed well are Epson and STMicroelectronics.
The overall MEMS revenue of Bosch dipped by about 3%, while there was a decrease of 17% in its automotive revenue. The consumer electronics earnings of Bosch Sensortec branch, however, experienced about fourfold increased in 2009. Canon’s MEMS share in market segment of the inkjet print-heads had increased during 2009, despite its shipments remaining flat.
Epson was able to achieve a 12% boost in earnings due to its quartz MEMS gyroscope business, while STMicroelectronics accounted for more than 40% share in the cell phones’ accelerometer market.
The greater share of MEMS earnings was accounted for those semiconductor suppliers who engage in in-house production. This share was about 77% in comparison to the 23% of the fabless manufacturers.
However, the fabless firm’s market share is likely to increase in the next five years due to the industry’s growing trend to utilize external foundries for manufacturing semiconductors. Such fablesc firms comprise of semiconductor companies who outsource their production activities.
On the whole, the MEMS earnings of the leading ten fabless producers and the IDMs totaled to $5.7 billion in 2009, which is less than 8.8% compared to the 2008 figures. This decrease was less than anticipated, due to the significant recovery of sensor manufacturing, more so in the automotive segment in the 2009’s last four months.
Source: http://www.hp.com