Due to the contribution of consumer electronics, especially smartphone and tablets, sensor and MCU are on the quicker rise. Based on report, by 2018, global MEMS sensor market size will reach $6.4 billion with compound annual growth rate of 18.5%; and MCU in 2013 is expected to increase by 8% to $61.0 billion.
The divided prosperity of these two segments is the ending? No. Since there is increasing requirements for self-testing, self-identification, self-validation, or self-adaptation as well as information processing capacity for smart grid, smart auto and intelligent security, integration of sensor and MCU is gaining more traction.
This integration also finds its way in Internet of Things, another niche market of global communication industry. The basic requirement of Internet of Things is building connection in all objects. With the in-depth networking technology, sensors need not only fundamental information collect, but also smart information processing capacity, an important standard for performance. Because we can not put all operations in cloud; network nodes must complete their computing tasks. So sensor and MCU integration and smart sensor becomes the direction, said Freescale's Microcontroller Division.
According to
Transparency Market Research, global intelligent sensor (enabling diagnosis, calibration and information processing) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.8% from 2012-2018, coming to 6.9 billion by 2018. Expanded application in health care monitoring, collision avoidance (including air traffic control), high-speed machinery, automotive applications, and even oil platforms are all its supporters for the beautiful future.
Worth noting, as MCU and sensor have many differences in technology, currently, it is very difficult to achieve integration. “MCU and sensor use different process: MCU adopts more digital circuits and address 90nm CMOS process; while a sensor is accessible to more analog circuits,” said Jin Yujie, Marketing Director of
NXP Semiconductor in Greater China. As a result, the integration will cause higher cost, affecting its acceptance.
Many manufacturers peg hope in the next technology knot such as 28nm. Or first connect MCU and sensor in packaging via CSD and MCP packaging.
Anyway, with the rapid development of mobile intelligence and Internet of Things, MCU+ sensor will gradually become a new trend, to help customer complete system development quicker and easier. Have you noted the change?
Tags：
sensor, MCU, trend, sensor and MCU integration, Internet of Things, MCU+sensor