Sensor market

Chemical sensor market can be considered as a part of a wider market of artificial sensing. The BBC Research (http //www.bccresearch.com) forecasts an annual growth rate 4.6% for commercial and medical sensing applications between 2007 and 2012 in a global market overview. 

First (Chapter 1) we explain the automotive sensor market the market size, important technical issues, business models, and major players are discussed. Current trends and the outlook for new sensors and market opportunities are reviewed. 

Essentially all electronics systems in use - be it for engine management, in safety systems, or as convenience features - need one or more sensors as input to their signal processing. An overview by Fleming [2] counted 107 different sensor applications in the car a luxury car typically contains 100 or more sensors. Therefore the automotive sensor market has grown at least as well as the electronics market over the past two decades and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. 

Sensors are used in a multitude of markets and applications and perform an innumerable variety of monitoring and control functions. To put the automotive sensor market into perspective, we briefly mention other sensor markets here. According to a study from Intechno Consulting [3], sensor markets can be categorized as follows ... 

According to the same study, in 2003 the overall sensor market will be 42.2 billion, and the automotive sensor market will be about 10.5 billion, or 25% of the overall sensor market. This is by far the largest of the market segments mentioned above. Taking into account the tendency of automotive sensors to be lower in cost than sensors in other segments (with the possible exception of the consumer electronics market), the large share of the automotive sensor market is even more pronounced if one looks at production volumes. 

The relative importance of the automotive sensor market will continue to grow in the future. The average annual growth rate (CAGR) of the total sensor market from now until 2010 is estimated as 4—5%, and expectations for the automotive sensor market range from 5.1% [4] to 7.5% [3]. 

It is also interesting to compare the automotive sensor market with the automotive electronics market, since they share the same driving forces and thus have similar dynamics. In comparing market figures, we should be aware that sensors do contain a significant and increasing amount of electronics, so some double counting may occur in the literature. 

For semiconductor specialists, the automotive sensor market provides an extension to their traditional business, with the benefit that it is rather stable and not as cyclical as other semiconductor markets typically are. 

Generally, the most important success factors in the automotive sensor market are ... 

Fig. 2.1 Market evolution of automotive sensors. Silicon-based sensors are capturing an increasing fraction of the sensor market (adapted from 5])...

In recent years, the automotive sensor market in Europe has grown strongly and is now of equal importance to the US market Emission-related legislation has now reached comparable standards as in the US. In addition, the European consumer has demanded safety-related features, many of which, such as ABS and the airbag (including side airbags), are now considered standard equipment... 

This section describes the particular markets for major established automotive sensors. Market trends for new sensor types are described in Section 2.6. 

Other Interesting Future Automotive Sensor Markets... 

Sensor fusion and multiple-sensor use will certainly change the long-term sensor market because even more electronics for preprocessing and bus compatibility will be integrated and also because the sensors will become standardized and more easily interchangeable. 

Intechno Consulting Basel, Sensor Markets 2008, 1999. See also Intechno Consulting, http //www.intechnoconsulting.com/ (accessed Oct 2002). 

Integration of surface-micromachined structures and electronics on the same substrate can be achieved at automotive production volumes and quality levels under carefully controlled conditions. Although many other materials can be used for the mechanical structure, such as nickel or aluminum, the properties of polycrystalline silicon have led to its dominating the automotive sensor market. 

Sensor elements in thimble-type 02 sensors represent about 75% of the oxygen sensor market today. These elements are mainly shaped by dry pressing and grinding of granulated Zr02. 

Strategy Analytics, Active Sensor Market Trends, Part I, Market Study, March 2001. 

There have been a number of approaches to bridging technology to application. One has been to classify sensor applications and the participants in the sensor market by transducer and active surface type using the assumption that the electronic components of the sensors are non-technically limiting. Table... 

In the field of SMOX-based gas sensors, by far the most studied material is the n-type Sn02. Moreover, most of the commercial sensors marketed today are based on it, generally in combination with noble metal additives (Ihokura and Watson, 1994 Williams, 1999). The other material used in commercial sensors in applications involving the detection of oxidizing gases is WO3, which is also an n-type semiconductor. This is intriguing, because since... 

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