FY 2009 Reports on Research Studies
activities choreographed by industry and public institutions,such as promoting standardization through collaboration withpublic institutions and businesses, in order to facilitate Japan inchanging its focus from technological and applied development
to market growth and mass production.

The Micromachine Center (MMC) conducts surveys on
trends in MEMS-related industries and technologies, compiles
the data in its annual reports, and distributes these reports toall member companies in the MEMS Industry Forum (MIF) andothers involved in the MEMS industry. The Report on Industrial
Trends and the report on field-specific “Survey of Technological
Trends at Home and Abroad” for FY 2009 have been completed,and a summary of each is given below.

FY 2009 Survey of Technological Trends at Home andAbroad (by the MEMS Technological Trends StudyCommittee)

FY 2009 Report on Industrial Trends (by the MEMS
Industrial Trends Study Committee)

The object of this survey is to monitor technological trends
from the fixed perspective of Transducers (held in Denver,Colorado in 2009), the largest MEMS-related conference
worldwide.

The Industrial Trends Study Committee is continuing its
research study begun last fiscal year on the types of tools
employing MEMS technology (MEMS-Inside) and the uses forthese tools (MEMS applications), as well as the state of affairs
for MEMS-related businesses. The committee compiled thisinformation into its FY 2009 report on challenges and strategies
for the expansion of Japan’s MEMS industry.

1. Oral Presentations by Region
Since the Transducers conference was held in the U.S. in2009, North America accounted for 43% of the oralpresentations, a large increase from its 25% share in theprevious year. On the other hand, Europe, which accounted for
39% of the oral presentations in the previous year, dropped bymore than half to 19% in 2009. Japan had a slight decrease insuch presentations from the previous year, but oralpresentations for other Asian countries increased from 14% to19% in 2009.

1. Trends in MEMS Applications
MEMS has already been incorporated as a practicaltechnology in numerous products, including such recognizabledevices as airbag sensors for automobiles, controllers for game
consoles, and image stabilizers for digital cameras. It is anticipatedthat applications for various devices in diverse fields will continue
to emerge as we see further advances in MEMS/nano-function
composite technology, MEMS/semiconductor integrated
fabrication technology, and MEMS/MEMS high-integration
technology. Through recent trends in MEMS sensors,
microfluidic systems, and bioMEMS used in medical and welfare
fields, we expect to see an increase in the number ofapplications of MEMS for medical diagnostics, examinations,and treatment.

2. Numbers of Presentations by Specific Field
Among the basic technologies, actuators were the mostpopular, followed by packaging technologies, whose numberincreased dramatically over the previous conference. Underapplied technologies, mechanical sensors occupied the top spotwith a considerable increase in number over the previousconference. This topic was followed in popularity by fluidic andbiomedical systems, while the number of presentations on
chemical/bio sensors was half that of the previous conference.
When looking at the number of presentations by region for
specific applied technologies, North America had a large
number of presentations on RF-MEMS, power-MEMS, fluidics,
and chemical/bio sensors, reflecting a focus on sensor networks,
health care, and medical treatment. Europe, on the other hand,gave numerous presentations on image sensors andchemical/bio sensors, reflecting a focus on bio-related fields.
Japan had numerous presentations on mechanical sensors andchemical/bio sensors, indicating an emphasis on sensors used in
automobiles and consumer electronics. In contrast, Japan’s
small number of presentations on power-MEMS suggests thatJapan may be lagging behind in the area of energy harvesting.

2. Trends in MEMS-Related Businesses
Companies that make up the MEMS industry are continuallyexpanding into diverse sectors of business. An increasing
number of companies involved in electronic, mechanical,precision, and chemical businesses are beginning to file
Japanese patent applications related to MEMS andmicromachine fields. The number of companies engaged inMEMS devices has also increased since the previous year’s
survey, with more and more companies pursuing fields
expected to have future MEMS applications, such as MEMS
sensors, optical MEMS, and bioMEMS.

3. Challenges for the Expansion of Japan’s
MEMS Industry

3. Numbers of Presentations for Basic andApplied Fields

Japan’s MEMS industry is configured of a group of dominantcompanies that follow a vertical integration model, as opposedto the horizontal division of labor employed in overseas groups,
such as STMicroelectronics and foundries for analog devices
and MEMS. Japan’s model is less efficient because its
technology, expertise, and facilities are scattered, and Japan
does not conduct sufficient activities aimed at market
penetration and growth for MEMS devices. Thus, in terms ofcost competitiveness, which will be an important factor in thefuture of industrial competitiveness, Japan’s model may beinferior to that used overseas. To strengthen the MEMS
industry in Japan, it will be necessary to implement aggressive

At the Transducers conference held the year before last,
the proportion of presentations on basic technologies wasdown, while presentations on applied technologies were on therise, but this year saw a slight increase in presentations on basic
technologies. In general, the proportion of interest in basictechnologies is high in European countries, but on the declinein Asia. While Japan and Asia invest relatively heavily in shortterm projects, it appears that European countries areconducting longer-term studies with a focus on basic
technologies.

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