MEMS-BASED TECHNOLOGIES MEET FUTURE HIGH-PERFORMANCE OEM REQUIREMENTS IN RF APPLICATIONS

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MEMS-BASED TECHNOLOGIES MEET FUTURE HIGH-PERFORMANCE OEM REQUIREMENTS IN RF APPLICATIONS
28 April 2005 - Venture Development Corporation

The global market for electromechanical and solid-state relays is expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2007, according to a study published by VDC in late 2004. RF relays and switches are expected to grow 10-15% annually due to an increased demand for higher switching frequencies in ATE, military and telecommunication markets.

These market and application segments require higher performance, but are less sensitive to price. In fact, some OEMs would be willing to pay twice what they currently pay for better isolation, linearity, and insertion loss characteristics.

High-performance requirements, as well as price, power consumption, and packaging, are examples of important selection criteria that will drive future adoption of MEMS-based switch technologies in RF applications:

Price - OEMs are willing to pay 2-times more for better performance characteristics. Within high-end commercial equipment and instrumentation markets, isolation, insertion loss, and linearity are important. New technologies, such as MEMS-based switches will likely displace high-performance pin diodes and GaAs FETs that are used.

Power Consumption - OEMs are hoping to reduce total power requirements for their systems by 50%. Instrumentation and wireless applications have the greatest need for low power components. Commercial and military market segments that use mobile devices for communication, test, and measurement will continue to demand low power in devices that require batteries with lower weight and bulk.

Packaging - Miniaturization will benefit telecommunication and ATE market segments. Many embedded applications continuously attempt to reduce the size of computing and communication boards. This higher level of integration requires smaller component sizes and simpler designs.

According to Rick Barnard, Practice Director at VDC, 'MEMS-based switches provide higher performance over alternative switching technologies, which will meet the growing need for improved isolation, linearity, and insertion loss characteristics in high-end RF/Microwave switching applications. Many manufacturers are targeting the huge wireless phone market, which is moving to 3G networks and multi-band switching technologies. However, near-term opportunities exist in ATE and high-end commercial and military instrumentation markets where price is less important. As demand increases, manufacturing and distribution channels will meet new and emerging market opportunities. This will enable prices to decline and will open the door to more price-sensitive consumer markets.'

http://www.vdc-corp.com

About: Venture Development Corporation
Venture Development Corporation (VDC) is an independent technology market research and strategy consulting firm that specializes in a number of industrial, embedded, defense and niche enterprise IT markets. VDC has been operating since 1971, when graduates of the Harvard Business School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology founded the firm. Today, we employ a talented collection of analysts and consultants who offer a rare combination of expertise in the market research process; experience in technology product and program management, and formal training in engineering and marketing. VDC's clients include thousands of the largest and fastest growing tech suppliers in the world and the most successful investors participating in the markets we cover.

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