Editing by Greg Gao

China has seen unprecedented growth in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) due to the rise of the Internet of Things, EV, smart consumer electronics, and wearable devices. While China is investing heavily in establishing a domestic MEMS supply chain and several Chinese firms have made significant progress, it is still facing daunting manufacturing and equipment challenges.

This is extracted from a research report by a JW Insights analyst on the subject.

Compared with traditional mechanical sensors, MEMS sensors have the advantages of reduced package sizes, less weight, flexibility in mounting and placement, shock and vibrations resistance, which can meet the requirements for sensors in the era of IoT. 

The global MEMS market is worth nearly $12.1 billion in 2020, a year-on-year growth of more than 2%. After experiencing weakness in 2019 and 2020, the market grew 11% in 2021 to reach $13.4 billion. By 2026, the MEMS market is projected to reach $18.2 billion, growing at a CAGR of approximately 7% (2020-2026), according to statistics from semiconductor market research firm Yole Développement.

Buoyed by a booming market and favorable government policies, Chinese MEMS players are poised to usher in a golden age of development.

JW Insights has compiled a list of major MEMS foundries in the Chinese mainland, including:

SMIC(中芯国际)

Shanghai Huahong Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation(HHGrace华虹宏力)

ASMC(上海先进)

Sai Microelectronics(赛微电子)

Silan Microelectronics(士兰微)

China Resources Microelectronics(华润微电子) 

Most of these companies focused on 6-inch and 8-inch MEMS wafer production lines.

Sai Microelectronics joined the first-tier MEMS foundries after acquiring the Swedish company Silex in 2016 and has ramped up its capacity and output significantly since then. The acquisition also greatly enhanced China’s MEMS fabrication technology. In October 2020, its first 8-inch wafer MEMS line in Beijing was put into operation, with a capacity of 10,000 wafers/month. 

The well-established foundries SMIC and HHGrace have also made progress in advanced MEMS process technology. SMIC mainly focused on MEMS microphones, accelerometers, gyroscope, pressure sensor, microscope, ultrasonic sensor, and RF devices.

In March 2018, SMIC established a new plant in Shaoxing, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, with the local municipal government. The plant focused on MEMS, MOSFET, and Field Stop IGBT structure. By July 2021, the capacity of SMIC Shaoxing has climbed to 70,000 wafers/month, with a yield rate of over 99%.

HHGrace has three 8-inch wafer fabs in Shanghai Jinqiao and Zhangjiang with a monthly capacity of about 180,000 wafers. On the 8-inch manufacturing line, the company has achieved processes and production lines integration of standard CMOS and MEMS devices. Its products include magnetometers, accelerometers, and pressure sensors.

As the MEMS sector is about to enter a fast lane in the country, the Chinese domestic MEMS foundries have huge market potential, but also face some daunting manufacturing and equipment challenges.

There are various types of MEMS products with different functions and there is no standard process between different MEMS products. As a result, the mass production of each type of product requires re-investment from the beginning, which prolongs the development cycle and brings a lower mass production rate compared to the traditional semiconductor. 

Currently, China's MEMS sector is still nascent and lags behind the international level, with the market mainly dominated by established semiconductor giants like Bosch, ST, ADI, Honeywell, Infineon, AKM. 80% of mid-to-high-end MEMS sensors and 90% of sensor chips depend on imports.

MEMS manufacturing is one of the bottlenecks in China's MEMS industry development, making it impossible for good designs to be quickly commercialized and marketed. 

China's domestic MEMS foundries have not yet accumulated enough process technology reserves, and experience, the consistency, and repeatability of the fabrication process cannot meet the design needs. Their product yields and reliability also need to be improved to satisfy the scale production requirements. Therefore, local MEMS design companies in the product commercialization stage are more willing to cooperate with well-established overseas foundries.

However, boosted by the establishment of the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market, a booming 5G, EV, and IoT market, and favorable government policies support, Chinese MEMS players have obtained unprecedented opportunities.

Meanwhile, MEMS manufacturing continues to move to China with more and better-localized services and lower costs. This trend will help improve China's overall capacity in MEMS manufacturing.