Bosch: 1 billion MEMS sensors sold in 3 years

The MEMS structures of a yaw-rate sensor are many times finer than a human hair.

The Bosch Group, a global supplier of automotive and industrial technology, recently produced its 2 billionth MEMS-based device since it began its microelectromechanical system production 16 years ago, a Dec. 22 company news release reported.

The new production volume record for the company is particularly useful in understanding the overall growth of the MEMS market. As Bosch noted, it took 13 years to produce its first 1 billion MEMS-based sensors. The company reached the 2 billion mark in just 3 years.

"And production volumes are still growing," Bosch reported. "Recently, annual production has reached almost half a billion units—more than 1.3 million every working day."

The automotive and consumer electronics industries are the biggest users of these sensors, and are served by the Bosch Group's Automotive Electronics division and its Sensortec and Akustica subsidiaries.