NEW YORK -- 2008 will be the year MEMS take off in cellphones as the technology's small size, flexibility, and performance advantages become big drawcards, ABI Research said today. 

According to ABI, MEMS finds five major application areas in the cellphone: RF filters, adaptive tuning circuits, resonators and oscillators, audio microphones, accelerometers and motion sensors. The challenge is their cost compared to incumbent solutions, but as volumes pick up for MEMS components in these newer markets, there will be a concomitant decrease in cost, the research firm asserts.

MEMS technology for consumer markets has been discussed for at least 10 years, says principal analyst Alan Varghese. "The traditional challenges for MEMS related to the difficulty of reliably manufacturing components at high volumes, effective packaging techniques, long-term device reliability, technology cost and supply chain robustness, all of which had a damping effect on the industry. However the MEMS industry has been addressing these concerns, and innovative solutions are being offered in high volume markets such as mobile phones and consumer devices."