STMICROELECTRONICS has shipped its three billionth micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) chip.
According to information and analytics firm IHS, ST’s total MEMS and sensor sales grew more than 19 percent in 2012, reaching a total of approximately $800 million. In the largest of these markets, motion sensors in mobile handsets and tablets, ST’s MEMS sales accounted for 48 percent of the market.
ST is the top-ranked MEMS supplier across all of the important mobile handset operating systems, with twice the market share of its nearest competitor.
ST’s MEMS sensors are used in motion-activated user interfaces in various consumer devices, including most of the leading smart phones, tablets, personal media players, game consoles, digital still cameras and remotes, making these more accessible and appealing to people.
ST’s MEMS devices are also widely used for free-fall protection in laptop hard-disk drives, in many health and fitness products, and for car infotainment and enhanced navigation.
ST offers a comprehensive portfolio of micro-machined accelerometers, gyroscopes, pressure sensors, magnetic sensors, and microphones and has the capability to integrate these in multi-sensor combos with on-board signal processing, control functions, sensor-fusion algorithms, and wireless connectivity.