Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022 - 21

chain for semiconductors has received
significant coverage in the media, and
especially in the automotive sector. Sensors/MEMS
have faced similar challenges
while being approximately a
scant 1/30th its size. Designers and
manufacturers of sensor/MEMS-based
products must be cognizant of these issues
to effectively support their ability
to create possible alternate scenarios in
bringing their products to market in a
timely fashion.
Marketing/Market Research
Roger Grace, President, Roger Grace Associates
Several
market research organizations
have estimated the worldwide sensors
market to be approximately $190B (US)
in 2022 with an approximately 10 percent
CAGR over the next several years.
Application sectors that will lead this
growth include IoT, e-health, wearables
(especially with printed and e-textile sensors),
automotive, environmental monitoring,
agriculture, and smart homes.
The total worldwide sales of sensors/
MEMS continued to increase during
2021 despite the effects of COVID-19 on
the workforce and global supply chain.
The increase in average sales price could
account for some of this increase.
The expected continued presence of
Covid into mid-late 2022 will continue to
have a negative effect on the in-person
attendance at trade shows for 2022 and
beyond. Sensors Converge in October
2021 hosted approximately 2,000 attendees
at its hybrid venue versus its typical
6,000. About 5,000 attendees are
expected at their late
June 2022 hybrid
venue. Trade
shows,
EV Group, headquartered in Austria, provides a broad line of fully automated process equipment
including bonders and aligners to support the MEMS and semiconductor fabrication of 200mm and
300mm silicon wafers. (Image: EV Group)
whether virtual, hybrid or in-person will
continue to play a significant role in the
marketer's toolbox. Additionally, digital
media including webinars, podcasts, videos,
enhanced websites, and email campaigns
will be embraced due to their recent
demonstrated efficacy.[2]
Design Analysis
Mary Ann Maher, President, SoftMEMS
The product design landscape has
changed during COVID-19. The challenges
for software suppliers were to
facilitate the many engineers working
from home on different devices and to
enable collaborative design and sharing
of design data by remote workers.
This turn of events prompted design
software suppliers to speed up moving
along trends, such as deploying cloud
computing solutions and online design
platforms.
With employees unable to go to the
office or lab to access fabrication and
testing equipment, some product development
groups re-oriented to put
more effort into simulation and modeling
in the meantime. This activity
enabled software suppliers to see an
uptick in the need for software and
related services.
Time will tell, but hopefully companies
who invested in simulation
and modeling will reap the benefits
of better design insights as they return
to other activities and perhaps
Tech Briefs, June 2022
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modify their behavior in the future to
include more modeling and simulation.
Design and Manufacturing
Todd Christenson, CTO, HT Microanalytical
Application of microfabricated sensors
to the Internet of Everything Moving
is experiencing a growth spurt even
beyond that of the large build-up of
the past. The competing nature, however,
of rising demand of ever more
capable microsensors with a stifled material
and labor supply is challenging
insertion of this new technology into
new products.
An approach to managing supply
chain quite contradictory to that enjoyed
even as little as a year ago has
been required. Volatility in availability
of certain stock items has made it a priority
to establish and qualify more and
new vendors more regularly. Exacerbating
the problem is the natural tendency
of raw material stockpiling which also
increases cost.
Equipment
Dave Kirsch, VP/GM, EV Group
During the last two years, delivering
equipment and providing customer support
presented both challenges and opportunities.
Resources available pre2020
became difficult to access, as did
the ability to interface in person with
customers. Implementing alternatives,
including remote meeting platforms and
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Cov
ToC
5/19/22 3:39 PM

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Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022

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