Last year, MEMS microphone shipments surged by nearly 60%

According to IHS iSuppli's special MEMS and sensor reports, MEMS microphones have been enjoying great success last year. With the promotion of the four major application areas, both shipments and operating revenue have increased significantly, and shipments have increased by nearly 60%. MEMS microphones enable clear sound quality for mobile devices.

In 2012, the shipment of MEMS microphones was 2.05 billion, which was a 57% increase from the 1.30 billion in 2011. This year's shipments will further increase by 30% to 2.66 billion, and will maintain a substantial double-digit growth rate for the next three years. By 2016, shipments will reach about 4.65 billion.

In 2012, operating income also increased significantly, rising by 42% to US$582 million, and it is expected to reach US$1 billion in 2016.

Microphone is still one of the most successful areas in the MEMS market. Its market share in the four major areas of mobile phones, notebooks, headsets, and media flats continues to increase, driving the rapid growth of the MEMS microphone market. Other fields such as games, cameras, televisions and hearing aids are also using MEMS microphones to broaden their applications. The use of MEMS microphones in set-top boxes will increase further this year, and will increase in the automotive industry in the next three years.

The mobile phone is the largest application area for MEMS microphones. Last year, its market share in this field rose to 69%. In 2011 and 2010, it was 52% and 38%, respectively. Especially to suppress noise, smart phones now use multiple microphones. When mobile phones perform voice commands, such as the Siri system in the Apple iPhone, it is important to eliminate environmental noise. The number of microphones in each cell phone also shows an increasing trend: Most mid-to-high-end smart phones use two microphones in 2010 and 2011, and since Apple used a third microphone on the iPhone 5 to achieve high-definition video, three microphones soon became Standard configuration.

MEMS microphones may also be widely used in media tablets. It is expected that the media tablet will become its second largest application by 2016. Although the first-generation tablet PCs such as Apple's first iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab use electret condenser microphones (ECM), MEMS have begun to be used in second-generation tablets. New uses such as noise suppression and voice commands are expected to increase the number of microphones used in tablet computers, and up to four microphones may be used in some tablet computers in the future.

Last year, more than half of laptops used MEMS microphones and appeared in the iPhone 4 and 4S headphones.