The Ubiquity of MEMS Inertial Sensors: From Smartphones to Smart Munitions

Rajesh Uppal November 20, 2024 Electronics & EW, Industry Comments Off on The Ubiquity of MEMS Inertial Sensors: From Smartphones to Smart Munitions 1,908 Views

In recent years, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) inertial sensors have become an integral part of numerous applications, ranging from everyday consumer electronics to advanced military technologies. These tiny sensors, which include accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers, are transforming how devices interact with their environment by providing precise measurements of motion, orientation, and acceleration.

Inertial sensors play a critical role in modern technology by converting inertial forces into measurable electrical signals. These sensors measure acceleration, inclination, and vibration, facilitating numerous applications from consumer electronics to advanced military systems. The development of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) inertial sensors has significantly impacted the field, allowing for compact, precise, and cost-effective solutions.

Inertial sensors encompass a range of devices, from MEMS sensors, which are only a few millimeters in size, to ring laser gyroscopes, which can be as large as 50 centimeters and offer high precision. MEMS technology has revolutionized the production of these sensors, integrating mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate through microfabrication techniques used in conventional integrated circuits.

Classification and Applications of MEMS Inertial Sensors

MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) inertial sensors are integral to modern technology, providing precise measurements of motion and orientation. These sensors are mainly classified into two types: accelerometers and gyroscopes, each designed for specific applications requiring different bandwidths, resolutions, and dynamic ranges.

Accelerometers

Function: Accelerometers measure linear acceleration along one or more axes. They detect changes in velocity and can infer orientation relative to the direction of gravitational pull.

Types of Accelerometers

Piezoresistive Accelerometers:
- Mechanism: The proof mass is attached to a piezoresistor whose resistance changes with applied force, detected by an electronic circuit.
- Pros and Cons: First to be mass-produced; however, they suffer from poor thermal stability.
Capacitive Accelerometers:
- Mechanism: Sense fingers attached to the proof mass change capacitance between fixed electrodes as they move.
- Pros and Cons: Thermally stable but prone to electromagnetic interference.
Piezoelectric Accelerometers:
- Mechanism: Piezoelectric materials generate electrical signals proportional to the proof mass displacement.
- Pros and Cons: Great bandwidth but poor resonant frequency due to leakage currents.
Tunneling Accelerometers:
- Mechanism: Measure displacement of the proof mass using tunneling current changes.
- Advantages: Extremely sensitive measurement technique.
Resonant Accelerometers:
- Mechanism: Proof mass changes the strain on a resonator, altering its resonant frequency.
- Pros and Cons: High reliability and noise immunity due to direct digital signal conversion.
Optical Accelerometers:
- Mechanism: Utilize optical fibers and waveguides to measure proof mass displacement.
- Pros and Cons: Free from electromagnetic interference but complex assembly and read-out circuitry limit popularity.

Applications:

Applications of inertial sensors

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based inertial sensor commercialisation goes back around 50 years and has involved many interesting developments, new applications and acquisitions. Development of capacitive and piezoresistive silicon linear accelerometers began in the 1970s. Airbags were the first high-volume application for these inertial sensors in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As with many MEMS devices, the aerospace industry led the development of angular rate sensors, also known as MEMS gyroscopes. Like the accelerometer, the automotive market provided the first high-volume applications for MEMS gyroscopes, starting in the mid-1990s with navigation assist, vehicle dynamic control (VDC) and roll-over protection (ROP) systems. Now, both of these sensors can be found in every smartphone, tablet, vehicle and wearable device.

Inertial sensors based on MEMS technology are fast becoming ubiquitous with their adoption into many types of consumer electronics products, including smart phones, tablets, gaming systems, TV remotes, toys, and even (more recently) power tools and wearable sensors. MEMS-based motion tracking enhances the user interface by allowing response to user motions, complements the GPS receiver by providing dead-reckoning indoor navigation and supporting location-based services, and holds the promise of enabling handset optical image stabilization in next-generation handsets by virtue of its lower cost and small form factor.

In the automotive industry, accelerometer is used for airbag release control, traction control, seat belt control, active suspension, antilock braking system (ABS) and monitoring vehicle vibrations. While the gyroscope is used for rollover protection, automatic indicators, power steering and to control vehicle dynamics.

In consumer segment, inertial sensors are used in a variety of applications like platform stabilization in video cameras, virtual reality headsets, pointing devices for computers, intelligent toys and gaming keypads. All smartphones and tablets nowadays have inertial sensors for detecting screen rotation, gaming and augmented reality applications.

The inertial sensors are also used to monitor position and orientation of robotic manipulators and unmanned robotic vehicles. In medical applications, these sensors are used for monitoring patients with specific conditions like for monitoring patients having Parkinson’s disease. High-end inertial sensors are used in military and aerospace applications like smart ammunition, aircraft dynamics control, crash detection, seat ejection system in aircrafts, and microgravity measurement.

Inertial sensors are also used in a wide range of military applications, from airplanes to guided missiles, robots, radar stations, and missile, torpedo and ground vehicle applications and GPS denied environments. MEMS are also enabling development of Smart munitions, for example a bullet equipped with a MEMS inertial IMU could calculate its position, compare it to the one of its target, and redirect itself using e.g. small fins on the back of the bullet. Another example is microrobotics, small Robots enabled by MEMS IMU to enable precise navigation.

Consumer Electronics: In smartphones and wearables for screen orientation, step counting, and activity tracking.
Automotive: For airbag deployment systems, electronic stability control, and navigation.
Industrial: Monitoring machinery vibrations, tilt sensing, and structural health monitoring.
Medical Devices: For fall detection, posture monitoring, and prosthetics control.

Gyroscopes

Function: Gyroscopes measure angular velocity or rotational motion around one or more axes. They are crucial for maintaining orientation and stability in various devices.

MEMS gyroscopes measure rotation using the Coriolis force, experienced when a mass moves within a rotating system. The key components include a resonating proof mass connected to frames and springs, which sense angular velocity by the induced Coriolis force.

A gyroscope measures the rotation of an object. The MEMS gyroscopes use the principle of Coriolis force. When a mass moves in a rotating system, it experiences a force perpendicular to axis of rotation and the direction of motion. This is called Coriolis force. A MEMS gyroscope consists of a mechanical structure that is driven into resonance due to Coriolis force and excites secondary oscillation in the same or a secondary structure. The secondary oscillation is proportional to the rotation of the structure in a given axis. The Coriolis force has relatively small amplitude compared to its driving force. That is why, all MEMS gyros use a vibrating structure that use the phenomenon of Coriolis force.

The vibrating structure consists of proof mass that is connected to a inner frame by a pair of springs. The inner frame is connected to an outer frame by another set of orthogonal springs. There are capacitive sense fingers between the inner frame and the outer frame attached along the orthogonal springs. The Coriolis force is proportional to both the angular velocity of the rotating object as well as velocity of the object towards or away the axis of the rotation. The proof mass is continuously driven sinusoidally along the inner springs. When the system experiences rotation, the resonating proof mass experiences Coriolis force along the orthogonal springs attached between inner and outer frame. This changes the distance between the capacitive sense fingers and so an electrical signal proportional to Coriolis force is output. As the Coriolis force is proportional to angular velocity, the electrical signal due to it is also proportional to the angular velocity of the system.

Applications:

Consumer Electronics: Enhancing gaming experiences, improving camera stabilization, and enabling gesture recognition in smartphones.
Aerospace and Defense: In navigation systems for aircraft, missiles, and drones, providing accurate orientation data even in GPS-denied environments.
Automotive: In anti-lock braking systems (ABS), electronic stability control, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Robotics: For precise motion control and balance in robots and unmanned vehicles.

Specifications: Gyroscopes, like accelerometers, are designed with specific attributes for different uses:

Consumer Electronics: Typically require moderate bandwidth (up to 200 Hz), high resolution (a few degrees per second), and moderate dynamic range (±2000°/s) to balance performance and power consumption.
Aerospace Applications: Need higher bandwidth (up to 1 kHz), very high resolution (fractions of a degree per second), and wide dynamic range (±4000°/s) to ensure stability and accuracy in dynamic environments.

Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)

Inertial Measurement unit (IMU)

An IMU, inertial measurement unit, is a sensor package containing 3 discrete sensors that can be used to track movement and orientation of objects. It is the Fusion of three sensor types: Gyroscopes -> Angular Velocity (rad/s or deg/s); Accelerometer -> Linear Acceleration (m/s^2 or g) and Magnetometer -> Magnetic field strength (micro-Tesla or Gauss) . Using a combination of multiple outputs allows us to build robust, complex systems that can achieve higher levels of accuracy . This is needed where GPS is not available (underwater, indoors, or due to interference or spoofing), for implementing image stabilization, or if the system needs to cross-check the GPS results.

An IMU combines multiple sensors:

Gyroscopes: Measure angular velocity.
Accelerometers: Measure linear acceleration.
Magnetometers: Measure magnetic field strength.

IMUs track movement and orientation, essential in GPS-denied environments, image stabilization, and cross-checking GPS data. Despite lower performance compared to traditional IMUs, MEMS IMUs are increasingly used in navigation and military applications due to their compact size and versatility.

Due to the performances of the MEMS inertial sensors, and particularly to the integration of the gyroscope errors, MEMS IMUs are globally still less performant than previous IMUs. However, some recent inertial measurement units based on MEMS technology can be used for navigation. ARDEC, along with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, managed the development of common IMU devices for a wide range of projectile and missile applications. MEMS IMUs have replaced larger devices such as traditional gyroscopes, air-bearing gyros and ring-laser gyros for the inertial guidance reference in precision munitions.

The Analysis and Evaluation Division developed detailed models that predict and display the forces acting upon these components in the gun-launch environment. These models were able to identify structural concerns, which were addressed to assure survivability under forces in excess of 15,000 Gs.

A promising breakthrough in MEMS inertial sensing technology is the use of multi-directional MEMS inertial sensors, which have the particularity to measure an acceleration or rotation in several directions at once. These enable even more miniaturization, but also more precise sensors since it would make the combination of different signals from different sensors to know the direction of acceleration or rotation obsolete. A six-axis IMU measures linear acceleration along X, Y,and Z axes, and rotation around the same three orthogonal axes.

Advantages of MEMS Inertial Sensors:

Small and Light: Ideal for integration into compact devices.
Low Cost and Low Power: Operate on milliwatts and low-voltage supplies (3V).
High Performance and Precision: Detect minute changes in position and acceleration.
Ruggedness: Can withstand high shock and vibration, crucial for demanding environments.

Applications of Inertial Sensors

Smartphones: Enhancing User Experience

One of the most common applications of MEMS inertial sensors is in smartphones. These sensors are responsible for a variety of functions that enhance the user experience:

Screen Orientation: Accelerometers detect the phone’s orientation, automatically rotating the display between portrait and landscape modes.
Gaming: Gyroscopes provide motion-sensing capabilities that allow for immersive gaming experiences, where the phone can detect tilt and rotation with high precision.
Fitness Tracking: MEMS sensors track physical activity, such as steps taken and distance traveled, enabling health and fitness applications.
Navigation: In conjunction with GPS, MEMS sensors improve the accuracy of location services by detecting changes in motion and direction.

Military Applications: Precision and Reliability

MEMS inertial sensors are critical components in military applications, where precision and reliability are paramount.

Missiles and Smart Munitions: These sensors provide guidance and control, ensuring that missiles and smart munitions reach their targets with high accuracy. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) equipped with MEMS sensors can operate independently of external signals, making them essential in GPS-denied environments.
Torpedoes: Similar to missiles, torpedoes rely on MEMS inertial sensors for navigation and control, allowing them to maintain their course and make necessary adjustments to hit their targets.
Drones and Unmanned Vehicles: MEMS sensors enable stable flight and precise control of drones and other unmanned vehicles, which are increasingly used for reconnaissance and combat missions.

Microrobotics: Enabling Tiny Machines

The field of microrobotics has greatly benefited from the advancements in MEMS technology. These sensors provide the necessary feedback for micro-scale robots to perform complex tasks:

Medical Applications: Microrobots equipped with MEMS sensors can navigate through the human body, delivering drugs to specific locations or performing minimally invasive surgeries.
Industrial Automation: In manufacturing, microrobots can handle delicate tasks with high precision, improving efficiency and reducing the risk of errors.

GPS-Denied Environments: Ensuring Navigation and Stability

One of the significant advantages of MEMS inertial sensors is their ability to function in environments where GPS signals are unavailable or unreliable. In such scenarios, these sensors provide continuous, reliable data for navigation and stability:

Underground and Underwater Navigation: MEMS sensors are crucial for navigation in tunnels, caves, and underwater environments where GPS signals cannot penetrate.
Space Exploration: In space, where GPS is not available, MEMS sensors help spacecraft maintain their orientation and trajectory.

Choosing the Right Sensor for the Application

The performance requirements of MEMS inertial sensors vary significantly across different applications. Key factors to consider include:

Bandwidth: This refers to the range of frequencies a sensor can accurately measure. High-bandwidth sensors are ideal for capturing rapid movements (e.g., airbag deployment), while low-bandwidth sensors suffice for slower movements (e.g., navigation).
Resolution: This represents the smallest acceleration or angular rate change a sensor can detect. High-resolution sensors are essential for applications requiring precise measurements (e.g., microgravity studies), while lower resolution might be adequate for simpler tasks (e.g., smartphone orientation).
Dynamic Range: Defines the maximum and minimum measurable values. A wide dynamic range is needed for environments with large variations in acceleration or rotation, such as in automotive crash detection. Sensors designed for high-impact scenarios (e.g., car crashes) need a wider dynamic range to capture both subtle and extreme movements.

Specifications: Depending on the application, accelerometers have varying bandwidth, resolution, and dynamic range. For instance:

Automotive Airbag Systems: Require high bandwidth (up to 0.5 kHz), moderate resolution (around 500 mG), and a wide dynamic range (±100G) to respond quickly and accurately to collisions. Here, the sensor needs a high bandwidth (up to 0.5 kHz) to detect rapid car deceleration during a collision. A resolution of around 500 mg (milligravities) is sufficient, and the dynamic range must be broad enough to handle the high G-forces of a crash (around +/- 100 G).
Space Microgravity Instruments: Demand low bandwidth (0-10 Hz), extremely high resolution (< 1 µG), and a narrow dynamic range (±1G) to detect minute accelerations in microgravity environments.

Advances in MEMS Inertial Sensors

Over the years, MEMS inertial sensors have evolved from single-axis accelerometers to multi-axis gyroscopes and IMUs, offering high performance in compact packages. Improvements in MEMS design, processing, and packaging have enhanced sensor features, temperature stability, and application versatility. Advanced gyroscopes like hemispherical resonant gyroscopes (HRGs) now offer unparalleled accuracy, making them suitable for aerospace and autonomous vehicle applications.

Batch Production Techniques: Have improved the precision and cost-effectiveness of MEMS gyroscopes, although challenges remain in achieving the high precision required in some applications.

New Gyroscope Designs: Address some limitations but high-precision applications still rely on fiber-optic gyroscopes (FOG) and ring laser gyroscopes (RLG).

Multi-Axis Integration: Recent advancements include integrating multiple sensors on a single chip, such as 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) IMUs that combine accelerometers and gyroscopes for comprehensive motion sensing.

Material Advancements

Silicon: The primary material for MEMS fabrication due to its excellent mechanical and electrical properties, compatibility with IC fabrication, and robustness.

Quartz: An alternative material, quartz is mechanically strong, thermally stable, and has piezoelectric properties, making it suitable for precise inertial sensors.

System Integration

MEMS inertial sensors are typically part of a larger control system. The data they provide is used to control device movement or activate actuators. For example, accelerometers in cars trigger airbag deployment during collisions.

MEMS-based inertial sensors span forty years of research and commercialisation that started with single-axis linear accelerometers, followed by gyroscopes and then magnetic and barometric pressure sensors. Through advances in MEMS design, processing and packaging, more sensing features have been incorporated into a single chip or via a few MEMS chips in a small surface mount package. Not only have multiple sensors and axes been compressed into a tiny IMU package, but the performance of the inertial sensors over temperature and in aggressive applications has also improved. MEMS gyroscope zero drift bias has improved from degree per second errors in the 1990s to fractions of a degree per hour errors in 2020. After successful development and commercialisation, billions of inertial MEMS sensors are manufactured every year and found in drones, smartphones, tablets, toys, vehicles and wearables.

High accuracy gyroscopes, called hemispherical resonant gyroscopes (HRGs), were being produced for aviation and spacecraft by Delco, Litton (acquired by Northrop Grumman), Safran and other companies. These led to the smaller micromachined ring gyroscope chips developed in the 1990s at the University of Michigan with Delco Electronics (spun off as Delphi Technologies) as well as British Aerospace and now manufactured by Silicon Sensing Systems. The micromachined ring formed part of the MEMS chip. It required vacuum sealing to achieve a Q (measure of resonant signal peak sharpness) of 2,000 and thus deliver improved performance. The higher the Q, the better the performance.

1890 wine glass HRG1990s single-axis MEMS silicon nitride ring gyroscope2020 quartz MEMS HRG

The single-axis MEMS gyroscopes of the 1990s had zero rate drift and noise levels of 3 to 5 degrees per second. MEMS HRGs, such as the one in the right image of figure , are still under development at the University of Michigan. The single-axis glass micro HRG shown has a Q of over 5 million and a bias stability of 0.0014 degree/hour. The new MEMS HRG work at the University of Michigan has been spun off for commercialisation as Enertia Microsystems. While these high-performance HRGs were developed for aerospace navigation, the advent of autonomous vehicles and tighter specification for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) could see wider market adaptation for this ever-improving inertial technology. A single-axis ring gyroscope was coupled with a linear accelerometer on the same chip in 1998. Only a single-axis gyroscope could be made on a MEMS chip with resonant ring technology. To make multi-axis gyroscopes on MEMS chips required the use of planar, gimballed capacitive micromachines.

Gyroscopic sensing in all three axes, namely yaw, roll and pitch, was available on a single MEMS chip in the mid-2000s. These were quickly combined with 3-axis linear accelerometers for 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) inertial sensors. Silicon comb fingers could electrostatically drive and sense motion in the X-Y plane while underlying conductive electrodes below the micromachine could sense motion in the Z-axis. By 2010, low-cost, consumer grade 3 and 6 DOF devices were offered by Bosch, Fairchild Semiconductor (acquired by ON Semiconductor), InvenSense (acquired by TDK), Maxim Integrated (acquired by Hanking Electronics) and STMicroelectronics. As shown in figure , the key to putting both vacuum packaged resonant gyroscopes and damped linear accelerometers on one MEMS chip was dual cavity wafer-level packaging (WLP).

A single chip 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) MEMS IMU.

For long-term high reliability, improved methods of wafer-to-wafer bonding are required to ensure that small diameter gases such as helium do not leak through the sealing interface10. Even the 5-parts per million (ppm) level of helium in the Earth’s atmosphere has been found to penetrate some WLP vacuum seals at the high end of the operating temperature range (85 to 125˚C), and nobel gases such as helium are not absorbed by chemically reactive getters. To maintain high Q for decades of use, resonators in conventional and MEMS HRGs must take care in vacuum sealing the devices. As shown in figure, WLP has enabled a dramatic shrinkage in IMUs over the last couple of decades. The small surface mount large grid array (LGA) packages on the right are incorporated into smart phones and watches for personal navigation.

1999 50 x 50 mm printed circuit board (PCB) 6 DOF IMU, incorporating MEMS ring gyroscope, through-hole single in-line packages (SIPs) and dual in-line packages (DIPs)2016 3 x 3 mm 6 DOF large grid array (LGA) IMU produced by Hanking Electronics

Further improvement in MEMS inertial sensors have employed mounting both the MEMS and CMOS chip in thin, mechanically and thermally isolated platforms inside a cavity ceramic package. The sensing chips on the isolation platform are solder vacuum sealed, with a thin film getter patterned on the Kovar lid, in hermetic ceramic packages. These micromachined insulating platforms dampen vibration and shock and can even employ heating coils to keep the sensing chips in a constant, slightly elevated temperature range, resulting in a 10-fold improvement in performance over temperature versus conventional ceramic and plastic packages.

The printed circuit board (PCB) of the large sensor module could accommodate barometric pressure sensors, high- or low-g accelerometers, gyroscopes and other sensors needed for automotive applications. The small surface mount IMUs that have been developed for mobile applications in the last few years are also integrating magnetic and barometric pressure sensors. The magnetic sensors can use the Hall-effect, magneto-resistance, Lorentz force and other magnetic sensing methods. Magnetic sensors can measure the Earth’s magnetic field and are often coupled with the linear accelerometers in the IMU via sensor fusion algorithms. The linear accelerometers can detect the Earth’s gravity or tilt of the IMU. Coupling the magnetic sensors and accelerometers can provide personal orientation with respect to magnetic north, also called an e-compass.

Similar to the accelerometers and gyroscopes, the three small magnetic sensors are placed orthogonally with respect to each other in the x, y and z axes as a 3 DOF magnetic sensor. By stacking the magnetic sensor chips on top of the MEMS motion sensors, 9 DOF inertial sensors have been made in small surface mount packages for smart phone applications. MEMS barometric pressure sensors, such as the one shown in figure 4, have also been incorporated in IMUs for altitude measurement and are available in 5 x 5 mm surface mount packages. They enable the user to navigate as well as be located and tracked without the need for GPS.

In the future, MEMS gyroscopes may employ an optical mechanism instead of the resonant Coriolis effect. Optical gyroscopes were first developed in the 1970s using the Sagnac effect and coils of fibre optic cable. The Sagnac effect splits a beam of light, and the two separate beams follow the same path but in opposite directions through the coils of fibre optic cable. On their return to their starting or splitting point, the two beams are allowed to exit the ring and undergo interference. The interference fringes of the relative phases of the two exiting beams are shifted according to the angular velocity of the apparatus.

These optical ring laser gyroscopes (RLGs) do not have moving parts. Improvements in RLG performance intensified in the 1990s and continue today. Higher accuracies, capable of even detecting the Earth’s rotation, have been achieved using ring diameters of 1 to 4 m. Smaller, MEMS-based RLG prototypes have been developed by several groups using oxide and nitride waveguides. Conventional RLGs can wind three-dimensional coils of fibre optic cable with relatively large diameters, while MEMS-based RLGs are limited to two-dimensional waveguides with diameters less than 10 mm. A single-chip RLG has not yet been commercialised and one would expect the accuracy to be lower than the larger diameter RLGs that are sold commercially.

Market growth

The MEMS Sensor Market size is estimated at USD 17.18 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 26.65 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 9.17% during the forecast period (2024-2029). The rising popularity of IoT in semiconductors, the growing need for smart consumer electronics and wearable devices, and the enhanced adoption of automation in industries and residences are some significant factors influencing the growth of the studied market. MEMS-based sensors for pressure, vibration, and location shall also be key enabling devices for the Internet of Things (IoT) as they make practical the long-term monitoring of key parameters in industry, commercial, and consumer/home environments.

“The impressive opportunities in mass applications such as the Internet of Things and autonomous/ semiautonomous vehicles for land, water, and air are also due to the multiple sensors which have allowed remote guidance and navigation (with or without GPS), such as electronic compasses, and MEMS-based motion, acceleration, and inertial measurement units. In broad context, the availability of these high-performance devices has completely changed the design tradeoff balance, transforming sensors from large, costly, heavy, power-hungry transducers with incompatible electrical interfaces to their complete opposite,” says Bill Schweber

MEMS sensors deliver multiple advantages, such as accuracy, reliability, and the prospect of making smaller electronic devices. As a result, they have gained considerable traction in the past few years. Miniaturized consumer devices, such as IoT-connected devices and wearables, are emerging applications of MEMS sensors in the market.
According to the IFR forecasts, global adoption is expected to increase significantly to 518,000 industrial robots operational across factories all around the globe in the next few years. The positive growth trajectory of the industrial robots market is expected to drive the demand for MEMS sensors during the same period.
Moreover, the demand for smartphones has been witnessing an upsurge owing to several factors increasing disposable income, the advent of 5G, and the development of telecom infrastructure. For instance, according to Ericsson, worldwide smartphone subscriptions are expected to reach 7,690 million in the next few years.
Furthermore, pressure sensors are anticipated to witness the fastest growth rate as they are used in numerous application areas, such as biomedicine, automotive electronics, small home appliances, and wearable and fitness electronics. Other MEMS sensors, such as microphones and ultrasonic MEMS sensors, environmental sensors, and microbolometers, are expected to hold a significant share of the market studied.

Segmentation

The global MEMS Inertial sensor market by application, the market is segmented into consumer electronics, healthcare, industrial, aerospace & defense, and automotive among others. The MEMS accelerometer sensors are widely used in electronic devices such as laptops and smartphones. The accelerometer is integrated in laptops as it detects the sudden free fall and immediately turn off the hard drive to prevent its damage. The accelerometers are integrated in smartphones to provide various features such as image stability, shock detection, menu navigation, text scroll, gaming control, silent mode activation, and motion dialing, and others. Moreover, the capability to accurately track the motion using sensors based on MEMS technology has led to the adoption of MEMS sensors in the health and fitness devices.

Regional Analysis

The geographical analysis of the global MEMS & sensors market is studied for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the rest of the world. The product terrain of the Mems Inertial Sensors market is categorized into Accelerometers,Gyroscopes andMagnetometers. The application scope of the concerned products is classified into Automotive,Consumer Electronics,Medical,Industrial andOthers

North America is one of the early adopters of technology and holds a significant market share among other regions due to the presence of leading market players such as Texas instruments, InvenSense, Qualcomm, Honeywell, Allego microsystems, and Bosch. The other factors which are impacting the growth of MEMS & sensors market in this region are increasing adoption of smart devices such as smartphones, smart wearables, PDAs, and computing devices.

Whereas, Asia-Pacific holds the largest market among other regions due to the proliferating Chinese market owing to the growing number of smart consumer electronics devices and the presence of major key players such as Mega Chips Corporation, Panasonic, Denso Corporation, and Hitachi Ltd.

Asia-Pacific is anticipated to be the most extensive market for MEMS sensors due to economies, such as India, Japan, and China, along with the increasing growth of the consumer electronics and automobile segments. According to Cisco, this year, around 311 million and 439 million wearable device units are expected to be sold in Asia-Pacific and North America, respectively. This is further driving the demand for MEMS sensors in the region.

China has witnessed a significant increase in the usage of MEMS sensors in the past couple of years due to the rise in its automotive and consumer markets and the export of smartphones, tablets, drones, and other microsystem and semiconductor-enabled products. Multiple MEMS sensors, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, pressure sensors, and radio frequency (RF) filters, have been imported into China for product assembly.

Moreover, the Chinese administration also views its automotive industry, including the auto parts sector, as one of the major industries. The Central Government expects China’s automobile output to reach 35 million units in the next few years. This is posed to make the automotive sector one of the prominent uses of MEMS sensors in China.

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the Indian appliances and consumer electronics (ACE) market has registered a CAGR of 9% to achieve INR 3.15 trillion (USD 48.37 billion) this year. The government has taken several initiatives to propel this product, including the National Policy on Electronics 2019, which aims to promote domestic electronic manufacturing and export a complete value chain to achieve a turnover of approximately USD 400 billion in the next few years. Such regional government initiatives are estimated to bolster the studied market.

The Indian automotive industry is well-positioned for growth economically and demographically, serving domestic interest and export possibilities, which will rise shortly. As a part of the Make in India scheme, the Government of India aims to make automobile fabricating the main driver for the initiative. The system is poised to make the passenger vehicles market rise to 9.4 million units in the next few years, as underlined in the 2016-26 Auto Mission Plan (AMP). This factor is expected to raise the adoption of MEMS sensors in the region’s automotive sector.

Industry

Some of the key players of global MEMS inertial market are Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, InvenSense Inc., STMicroelectronics N. V., Alps Electric Co. Ltd., Analog Devices Inc., Freescale Semiconductor Ltd., Kionix Inc., Memsic Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., Epson Electronics America Inc., Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc., Honeywell Aerospace, Colibrys Ltd. based on the data collected and analyzed.

For instance, in April 2022, Tata Motors announced projects to finance INR 24,000 crores (USD 3.08 billion) in its passenger motorcar business over the next five years. Furthermore, in March 2022, MG Motors, owned by China’s SAIC Motor Corp., declared plans to expand USD 350-500 million in confidential equity in India to fund its future requirements, including EV expansion. Such developments in automobiles will further drive the studied market growth.

Furthermore, with the development of new intelligent vehicles, such as new energy vehicles and driverless vehicles, MEMS sensors may occupy a more significant share of the automotive sensor market in the future. Recently, InvenSense presented its vast portfolio of innovative MEMS sensor technologies at CES. For instance, it released the IMU IAM-20685 high-performance automotive 6-Axis MotionTracking sensor platform for ADAS and autonomous systems and TCE-11101, a miniaturized ultra-low-power MEMS platform for direct and accurate detection of CO2 in home, industrial, automotive, healthcare, and other applications.

The Future of MEMS Inertial Sensors

As MEMS technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more innovative applications across various fields. The sensors are becoming more accurate, smaller, and more energy-efficient, expanding their potential uses.

Optical Gyroscopes: Utilizing the Sagnac effect, these gyroscopes offer high precision without moving parts. MEMS-based optical gyroscopes are being developed to achieve high accuracy in compact forms.

MEMS HRGs (Hemispherical Resonant Gyroscopes): Offer exceptional accuracy and are being developed for applications in aerospace and autonomous vehicles.

Enhanced Packaging: Improved wafer-to-wafer bonding and vacuum sealing techniques ensure long-term reliability and performance stability, critical for high-precision sensors.

Future developments may include:

Advanced Wearables: More sophisticated health monitoring and augmented reality (AR) applications in wearable devices.
Autonomous Vehicles: Improved navigation and control systems for self-driving cars and drones.
Internet of Things (IoT): Enhanced sensing capabilities for smart home devices and industrial IoT applications.

Future advancements may include optical gyroscopes using the Sagnac effect for higher accuracy without moving parts, and continued miniaturization and integration of multiple sensor types in single IMUs, driving further innovation across various industries.

By understanding the specific needs of each application and leveraging the strengths of different MEMS inertial sensor types, industries can continue to benefit from enhanced motion sensing and orientation capabilities.

Conclusion

MEMS inertial sensors have become ubiquitous, finding applications in a wide range of industries due to their precision, reliability, and versatility. From enhancing the functionality of smartphones to providing critical data for military and aerospace applications, these tiny sensors are revolutionizing how devices interact with their environment. As technology advances, MEMS inertial sensors will continue to play a crucial role in shaping the future of various fields, driving innovation, and enabling new possibilities.