Feature article

Recent developments in MEMS sensors:

a review of applications, markets
and technologies
Robert Bogue
Associate Editor, Sensor Review

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors and their commercialisation
and to consider a number of recent applications, markets and product developments.
Design/methodology/approach – Following an introduction and a brief historical background to MEMS sensors and their commercialisation, the
paper describes a selection of recent applications, with an emphasis on high volume uses. Various market figures are included to place these
applications in a commercial context. Sensors for both physical variables and gases are considered.
Findings – The paper shows that MEMS sensor applications continue to grow in the automotive, consumer electronics and other industries, which
consume many millions of sensors annually. New product developments reflect the requirement for smaller and lower-cost sensors with enhanced
performance and greater functionality. Markets for physical sensors dominate but MEMS technology is making progressive inroads in the gas sensing field.
Originality/value – This article provides a timely review of a selection of recent MEMS sensor applications, markets and product developments.

Keywords MEMS, Sensors, Electromechanical devices, Pressure, Gases, Applications, Markets, Accelerometers, Microphones, Pressure sensors,
Gas sensors

Paper type Research paper

Introduction and historical background
When Charles Smith from the Bell Telephone Laboratories
published a paper in Physical Review in 1954 which described
stress-sensitive effects in silicon and germanium, few could
have predicted that this would lay the foundations of what is
today a multi-billion dollar industry. This paper discussed
piezoresistance, an effect whereby the resistance of doped
semiconductors varies with the applied stress and during the
mid-1950s, researchers were starting to investigate whether the
semiconductor technologies which had yielded the transistor,
which revolutionised the emerging electronics industry, could
be applied to sensors. Smith’s paper was followed a year later by
what is probably the first publication to consider this possibility
and during the early 1960s, further papers from the Bell Labs
and Honeywell, an early pioneer of the technology, described
the first piezoresistive silicon pressure sensors and strain
gauges which were the forbearers of what is now termed
micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). Subsequent
developments in micromachining and improvements to
silicon processing technology in the early 1970s led to a group
of forward-looking, mostly American companies producing
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Sensor Review
33/4 (2013) 300– 304
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0260-2288]
[DOI 10.1108/SR-05-2013-678]
pressure sensors with non-planar diaphragms which were
arguably the first true MEMS sensors. Since then, MEMS
technology has been outstandingly successful and has yielded a
range of small, rugged and often inexpensive, high performance
sensors which respond to many physical variables (Table I) and
to a lesser extent to certain gases, chemical species and
biological quantities.
Although something of an over-simplification, the
commercialisation of MEMS sensors can be seen as having
occurred in three waves, as shown in Table II. They are now used
widely in industries such as the process, petrochemicals and
building services sectors, power generation, defence, aerospace
and heathcare but also play a vital role in everyday life, being key
components in computers, phones, digital cameras, gaming
consoles and cars. This article discusses some of the more recent
developments and applications of MEMS sensors for detecting
physical variables and gases.
The relentless rise of pressure sensors
MEMS technology has been particularly successful in the
pressure sensing context and unlike most other physical variables,
where several different technologies continue to coexist, the
majority of today’s pressure sensors are based on MEMS. This
reflects several facts: inherent features of the technology which
allow high performance to be achieved; the ability to
accommodate a very wide range of pressures by changing the
diaphragm dimensions; and high-volume batch fabrication which
allows very low unit costs, as demanded by several industries. In
the automotive sector, they are used in engine management,

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Table I MEMS sensors for physical variables

Variable Type of sensor
Pressure Piezoresistive and capacitive pressure sensors
Vibration, shock, motion Accelerometers
Position, rotation Gyroscopes, yaw-rate sensors
Inclination, angle Inclinometers
Strain Semiconductor strain gauges
Infra-red radiation Microbolometers
Sound Microphones
Flow Thermal mass flow sensors

Table II The commercialisation of MEMS sensors

Dates User-industries/early products
Wave 1 1970s onwards Low volume uses of high cost products in industry and aerospace
Pressure sensors, strain gauges, accelerometers
Wave 2 1980s onwards High volume uses of low cost products by the automotive industry
Pressure sensors, accelerometers, yaw sensors, air flow sensors
Wave 3 Early 2000s onwards Ultra-high volume uses of very low cost products in consumer electronics
Accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones

fuel delivery, stability and emission control systems and to Figure 1 The LPS001WP pressure sensing die and packaged product
monitor tyre pressures, amongst other uses, and are expected to
generate a global revenue of $1.26 billion this year (2013), almost
75 per cent of the total MEMS pressure sensor market and
around half of the total $2.3 billion automotive MEMS sensor
market. In contrast to these low cost sensors, the military and
aerospace sectors make use of high performance MEMS pressure
sensors with prices in the hundred to thousand dollar ranges.
Although used in far lower volumes, these are expected to
generate revenue of around $40 million this year.
Until very recently, MEMS pressure sensors have not
benefited from the explosion in sensor consumption by the
consumer electronics sector but with Samsung’s use of them in
the Galaxy S4 and other smartphone models, together with Sony
Mobile, who used them in a couple of its 2012 models, the
market has expanded dramatically. According to market research Source: STMicroelectronics
by IHS iSuppli, 82 million MEMS pressure sensors were used in
smartphones in 2012 and shipments this year are expected to
double to 162 million units and rise to 325 million in 2014 and deformation and breakage, material selection is crucial. Silicon
681 million in 2016. Samsung’s use is ostensibly for height dioxide was considered due to its excellent pressure sensitivity
measurement in buildings to support indoor navigation and but this property is countered by a strong tendency to buckle
measuring altitude, although other applications will doubtless and twist, even in the absence of pressure. The solution was to use
emerge, such as weather forecasting, particularly as the S4 also a double layer of silicon dioxide with piezoresistive silicon
has in-built temperature and humidity sensors. An example of a nanowires embedded in between and topped by a stabilising layer
product aimed at this use and other markets is the LPS001WP of silicon nitride. The result was a pressure sensor with a 200 mm
from STMicroelectronics (Figure 1) which has a resolution of diaphragm that deflected by just 0.1 mm and which exhibited a
0.065 mbar and is able to detect changes in altitude of just 80 cm. sensitivity of 0.6 per cent/psi. Large numbers of disposable
STM is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and had MEMS pressure sensors are used by the medical industry;
shipped over three billion MEMS sensors as of early 2013. a market valued at around $140 million in 2013, and this type of
Although highly miniaturised, these sensors are based on device could ultimately boost consumption by this sector.
conventional MEMS technology but applications are emerging
which require even smaller devices, such as robotic surgery and
The emergence of MEMS microphones
medical implants. There are several technical difficulties in
miniaturising silicon diaphragm devices below a certain size and Another product to have benefited from use in the consumer
researchers from Singapore and South Korea have developed a electronics sector is the MEMS microphone. Until recently,
sensor which uses a combination of materials. Since the these were manufactured in relatively low volumes but now
diaphragm must transfer small pressure changes to the they are commonplace in smartphones, laptops, tablets,
piezoresistors while maintaining resistance to non-linear video cameras and other products. The year 2009 marked an

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important milestone, when Apple started to use MEMS Figure 2 Monolithic microphone die with the MEMS microphone in the
microphones in the iPod nano 5 and more importantly, in the centre and the circuitry around it
iPhone 4. Today, two MEMS microphones for a smartphone is
typical, up from just one two years ago. Handset suppliers are
now considering the use of three or more microphones to yield
additional benefits such as greater noise suppression as well as
high quality audio recording for videos. The emphasis on
clearer sound is much more pronounced today than formerly, as
handsets have become more versatile, being used for other tasks
such as listening to music or recording video, in addition to their
original purpose. Indeed, acoustics is one of the ways in which
handset manufacturers can differentiate their phones. For
instance, Nokia promotes the audio performance and high
quality recording of the new Lumia as an important feature,
setting it apart from competitors. In a high profile move a year
ago, Apple introduced its Siri voice command feature in the
iPhone 4S which was then carried over to the iPhone 5 and
included in other Apple products, such as the fifth-generation
iPod touch music player and the iPad fourth-generation tablet.
The consequence of all of this is that the markets have expanded
very rapidly, from around 433 million units in 2009 to a massive
2.06 billion units in 2012. In 2016, the market is forecast to
more than double, reaching an estimated 4.65 billion units
worth around $1 billion. In 2016, tablets will be the second most
common application for MEMS microphones after
smartphones and although the first-generation tablets such as
Source: Akustica
the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab used conventional
electret condenser microphones, MEMS devices started to
appear with the second-generation products. Figure 3 The AKU340 2-chip MEMS microphone
The technology is interesting. For exampe, Akustica, part of
the Bosch group, uses two different technologies according to
the application. In one, which is based on MEMS technology
developed by the Carnegie Mellon University, the microphone
and the analogue and digital signal processing electronics are
integrated on the same chip using standard CMOS processes
(Figure 2). In an alternative design, the microphone is produced
by surface micromaching of polysilicon on a silicon substrate
but the signal processing IC is produced as a separate
component, closely connected to the microphone (Figure 3).
This approach allows greater design flexibility and the ability to
add features to the product without a major sensor redesign.
In addition to analogue products, Akustica introduced the
AKU230 in 2011 which was the first digital, surface-mountable
MEMS microphone and is based on fully integrated sensor and
electronic technology.

Continued market expansion for accelerometers
As shown in Table II, accelerometers have been present during all
phases of MEMS sensor commercialisation and the first was
demonstrated back in 1970. They are now used in their millions
by the automotive industry to activate air bags and provide
signals to stability control systems, together with other uses and
since the first iPhone made it popular to use accelerometers to
provide auto-screen rotation and gesture-based command
functions, the consumer electronics sector has become a
massive and rapidly growing user. During recent years MEMS
accelerometer technology has continued to evolve as users
demand ever smaller packages, lower power consumption and
greater functionality. Reflecting this trend, Bosch Sensortec
launced the BMA355 in early 2013 which features wafer-level,
chip-scale packaging and has a size of just 1.2 £ 1.5 £ 0.8 mm
(Figure 4). As such, it is presently the smallest three-axis MEMS
Note: Top and bottom views and without the lid, showing the
separate microphone and IC
Source: Akustica
accelerometer on the market and has 12-bit resolution and
the power consumption is just 130 mA. The product supports a
range of applications, including motion detection, portrait-
landscape orientation switching, flat detection, tap/double-tap
sensing, shock detection and free-fall protection, as well as
featuring advanced power management. Another trend, within
the automotive sector, is the development of “combo” sensors,
i.e. single packages that contains both an accelerometer and a
yaw sensor/gyroscope. This approach is being applied to vehicle
stability control systems and yields both space and cost benefits.
All new cars will now be equipped with combo inertial sensors,
which are expected to generate a global revenue of around

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Figure 4 The miniature three-axis accelerometer package
Source: Bosch
$160 million in 2013, up from about $90 million last year.
A product featuring an even higher level of in-package integration
is the Bosch BNO055, a nine-axis absolute orientation sensor
(Figure 5). The single package contains a triaxial 12-bit MEMS
accelerometer, a triaxial 16-bit MEMS gyroscope with a range of
^2,0008 per second, a triaxial geomagnetic sensor and a 32-bit
microcontroller running the company’s BSX3.0 FusionLib
software. At 5.0 £ 4.5 mm, it is significantly smaller than
comparable discrete or system-on-board products.
While accelerometer uses in vehicles and consumer electronics
are well documented, novel applications are emerging in other
fields and an example is the “MooMonitor”. Based on a triaxial
MEMS accelerometer and a single-chip UHF transceiver with
an integrated microcontroller designed for low-power wireless
applications, the system is attached to a dairy cow and exploits the
long-established fact that female mammals display a predictable
increase in physical activity when in oestrus (on heat).
By monitoring the cow’s activity with the accelerometer it is
therefore possible to detect which cows are on heat. Data are
transmitted to a base station for analysis and can also be sent to a
mobile phone equipped with a dedicated app. Each missed heat
results in a loss of three weeks’ milk production in a spring calving
Figure 5 The BNO055 nine-axis absolute orientation sensor
Source: Bosch
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system and it is estimated that the US dairy industry loses more
than $300 million annually due to failure and/or misdiagnosis of
oestrus. In trials, the system showed an 82 per cent heat detection
rate and a 6.8 per cent error rate. Since there are over 260 million
dairy cows worldwide and over one billion each of sheep and pigs,
where the technology could also potentially be applied, this
application may ultimately constitute a significant but as yet
largely untapped market for MEMS accelerometers.
MEMS gas sensors: steady progress
In contrast to physical sensing, MEMS has so far exerted
relatively little inpact on gas sensors and few of the main gas
sensing techniques have benefited from the technology. The
most significant application has been with semiconducting metal
oxide (MO) sensors which are used in their millions in a
multitude of industrial applications. While some MO sensors are
still based on beads of the oxide with embedded heater coils and
wires to detect the gas-induced change in resistance, the original
design, others use printed heater and sensing electrodes and films
of the oxide on planar ceramic substrates. The most recent design
concept is to use microengineered silicon, i.e. MEMS,
substrates, often in conjunction with a thin silicon nitride
membrane, to support a film of the sensing material. This
technology yields miniaturised sensors with reduced power
consumption, faster response times and lower unit costs in high
volumes. The substrates are often termed micro-hotplates and
frequently feature an integral temperature sensor (Figure 6).
The market for MEMS MO gas sensors has recently
expanded dramatically due to the adoption by the automotive
industry where they are used to control the air flowing into the
vehicle’s cabin. The sensor module detects external pollutants
such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide
and triggers the air conditioning system to close the air inlet
when excessive pollution levels are detected. Most modules
contain two or three MO sensors in a single package, together
with a microcontroller and sometimes also other non-MEMS
sensors for temperature and humidity. These were first used on
high specification vehicles but are rapidly progressing down the
model chain and with 60 million passenger cars produced in
2012, the market potential is clearly significant. However, some
industry commentators believe that these volumes will be
exceeded significantly as gas sensors find uses in mobile phones.
As noted above, models such as the Galaxy S4 already feature
some environmental sensors (humidity, barometric pressure,
temperature) and future models may well include sensors for
pollutants that exacerbate respiratory conditions (nitrogen
dioxide and ozone), highly toxic compounds such as carbon
monoxide and alcohol vapour. Indeed, plug-in modules are
already available which allow a phone to act as a breathalyser,
although as yet, these use non-MEMS-based sensors.
A mainstay of the gas sensing business is the catalytic sensor or
pellistor. While not used in comparable volumes to, for
example, automotive sensors, they are employed throughout
the world as the standard method to detect methane and other
combustible gases and have traditionally been based on a bead
of a catalytic material with an embedded platinum coil.
Recently, MEMS-based alternatives have emerged in which a
thin catalytic sensing layer is deposited onto a MEMS
substrate featuring a thermally isolating membrane and an
integral heater. The benefits of the MEMS approach are
improved resistance to shock and vibration and a power
consumption reduction of up to 50 per cent. Examples are the
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Robert Bogue Volume 33 · Number 4 · 2013 · 300 –304

Figure 6 Schematic of a MEMS micro-hotplate

Top metal interdigitated
electrodes for resistive
Passivation Membrane Region gas sensors

Silicon
Dioxide
5 µm
Metal
Heater

N+ N+ N+ P+ P+
P+ P– N–
300 µm

Temperature CMOS Circuit

sensor Area

Substrate

Source: Cambridge CMOS Sensors

MP-7217 from SGX Sensortech which was launched in 2013 Figure 7 MEMS mid-IR sources
and the KHS-200 a MEMS pellistor for hydrogen detection
which is immune to methane, produced by Kebaili Corp.

The role of MOEMS in gas sensing

Micro-optoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS)
technology is the merging of MEMS with micro-optics and
has a role to play in gas sensing. An emerging market is the use of
microengineered silicon emitters in non-dispersive infra-red
(NDIR) gas sensors. Most of today’s NDIR products use
miniaturised filament bulbs as the optical source and although
small and inexpensive, their outputs are limited to a wavelength
of around 5 mm. This restricts the range of gases that can be
detected, as many important compounds have absorption peaks
in the 6-14 mm region, e.g. ammonia, alcohol vapour,
refrigerants, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide, etc. A UK
company pioneering MOEMS technology for this application is
Cambridge CMOS Sensors which produces silicon mid-IR
sources that operate over the wavelength range 2-14 mm and
feature integrated FET drivers, allowing the heater temperature
to be controlled by adjusting the gate or the supply voltage, Note: Packaged products and bare dies
therefore eliminating the need for a separate off-chip driver Source: Cambridge CMOS Sensors
(Figure 7). The company also produces MEMS micro-
hotplates for use in MO gas sensors. While conventional
very low unit costs, allowing high volume applications in
NDIR has been used for many years to detect methane as an
price-sensitive markets. These include automotive and more
alternative to the catalytic sensor, this MOEMS IR technology
recently consumer electronics and these applications will
can also be used to detect this gas. Thus, together with the new
continue to expand. MEMS is making progressive inroads in
catalytic sensing technology, two different MEMS-based
approaches are now available as alternatives to the the gas sensing field and although no major class of gas sensor
conventional methane detection technique. is yet wholly MEMS-based, emerging, high volume
applications are expected to stimulate the wider use of the
technology.
Conclusions
Since commercialisation began in the 1960s, MEMS
Corresponding author
technology has been outstandingly successful in yielding high
performance sensors for a range of physical variables, often with Robert Bogue can be contacted at: robbogue@aol.com

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