Sensor/Actuator Sales Forecast to Grow Twice as Fast as ICs
New MEMS-based designs expand emphasis from automotive to other applications

Scottsdale, Arizona --- April 25, 2006 ---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, according to IC Insights' new 2006 Optoelectronics, Sensor/Actuator, and Discrete (O-S-D) Report. 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. The O-S-D Report concludes that 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, based on the forecast in IC Insights' O-S-D Report. 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 ICs, according to the O-S-D Report. In 2006, the 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.

IC Insights' O-S-D Report ranks 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.

The new 2006 O-S-D Report expands IC Insights' coverage of the semiconductor industry with detailed analysis of trends and growth rates in the optoelectronics, sensor/actuator, and discrete market segments. The report is available for $1,990 in either a three-ring binder or CD-ROM format. Additional individual copies of the CD-ROM or binder sell for $495 each. The report is also available under a multi-user corporate license for $5,290. Special discount rates for the O-S-D Report are available to current subscribers to IC Insights' McClean Report, which provides an in-depth analysis of the IC portion of the semiconductor industry.

About IC Insights

IC Insights, Inc., based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is dedicated to providing high-quality, cost-effective market research for the semiconductor industry. Founded in 1997, IC Insights offers coverage of global economic trends, semiconductor market forecasts, capital spending and fab capacity trends, product market details, and technology trends, as well as complete IC company profiles and evaluations of end-use applications driving demand for ICs.