Accelerometer is a kind of electronic equipment that can measure accelerating force. The three main technologies used in accelerometers are piezoresistance, piezoelectricity and capacitive technology. Piezoresistance accelerometer is widely used in automobile industry, so it has the fastest growth among the three kinds of accelerometers. It is mainly applied in securing safety performance of a vehicle, including automotive safety air-bags, anti-lock braking system and traction control system. The global market size of piezoresistance accelerometer was valued at around US$420 million in 2000, and reached US$560 million in 2007. The global market size of piezoelectricity accelerometer was US$300 million in 2002, and reached US$420 million in 2007, showing an annual growth rate of 4.9%. Capacitive accelerometer had a robust growth and its growth was accelerated after 2004. Its compound average growth rate in the period 1999 to 2007 was 5.9%. Its global market size increased to US$110 million in 2007 from US$75 million in 2000.
Global Market Sizes of the Accelerometers According to Types, 2007
Source: ResearchInChina
Accelerometer is also called acceleration sensor, a kind of sensor. Sensor is an industry with big potential. In 1998, the global sensor sales were US$32.5 billion and the sales increased to US$55 billion in 2006, while its sales in 2010 are expected to exceed US$82.5 billion. From 1995 to 2003, the global sensor market witnessed an annual growth rate of 9%. The annual growth rate in the period 2006-2010 is expected to surpass 10 percent.
At present, China is of 10 major categories, 42 subcategories and over 6,000 varieties of sensor products. According to the forecast of Microelectronics Research Department of China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID-MRD), China's sensor sales will amount to CNY90.5 billion in 2010 and its average growth rate of sales will be 31% through 2010.
Accelerometer can be divided into two categories: angular accelerometer and linear accelerometer. This report makes a thorough study on the linear accelerometer, thanks to its wide application and huge market demand. Based on the current development, the linear accelerometer has the clear development trends, as follow:
1) Liquid floated accelerometer, flexural accelerometer and single-axis pendulous accelerometer underpinned by suspensory wire, are already technically mature products. They will continue to be used for a quite long time in the future. To raise its accuracy, the future development should be focused on the improvement of magnetic circuit, flexible hinge and electronic circuit
2) Due to the urgent requirements for digital output, large dynamic range and high resolution, quartz vibrating beam accelerometer is expected to have a wide range of applications in medium and high precision field in the future.
3) With the development of microelectronics and micro-fabrication technology, more and more silicon-based materials will be applied in the manufacturing of sensors. Micromechanical silicon accelerometer has become a hot spot of research, which will enable accelerometers to achieve a real sense of mechanical and electrical integration. It is an important development direction of accelerometers.
4) Applications of lasers, fiber-optic sensors, new technology and continuously emerging new materials have created favorable conditions for the development of fiber optical accelerometer, resulting in emerging of many practical fiber-optical accelerometers. Thanks to its advantages, fiber-optic accelerometers like micromechanical silicon accelerometers will have a good development prospects in the future. It can be foreseen that micro-opto-electro-mechanical accelerometers will play a significant role in the applications in medium and high precision inertial field in the future.