LYON, FRANCE – A recent market study from Yole Developpement reveals that the global microelectromechanical systems industry reached almost $6 billion in 2006, and is growing at a CAGR of 14%. The trend toward more MEMS use in consumer applications and higher volumes in the automotive industry are driving the move from 6" to 8" wafers, the company says.

The report states most new companies are fabless or "fab-lite," contracting out to existing MEMS- or IC-manufacturing infrastructures.

Texas Instruments ranked first in the top 10 MEMS producers in sales, followed by Hewlett-Packard, Robert Bosch, Lexmark, Seiko Epson, STMicroelectronics, Canon, Freescale, Analog Devices and Denos, according to the research firm.