Magnetic sensor market size surging forwards

This has resulted in rapid product developments such as the Tunnel-Magnetoresistance (TMR) technology, which offers advantages such as less temperature drift, higher stability, fewer errors, and lesser deterioration through ageing.

TMR sensors can achieve an output of around 20 times more than the conventional Hall-effect and AMR sensors, making them a preferable choice for applications requiring instantaneous processing such as automated parking and driving. These components provide the required accuracy for the car's steering columns.

The consumer electronics industry has grown over the years with growing demand due to the increasing disposable income of people in developing nations. Substantial integration of navigation systems in multiple devices including smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, among others is propelling the growth of the magnetic sensor market. 

The demand for higher accuracy is increasing the adoption of magnetic sensor-based navigation systems. The industrial applications will also provide a high growth potential in areas such as speed sensing and position sensing. Moreover, they are used in applications such as Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) to evaluate the product quality preferred during product testing, saving costs by eliminating the product destruction techniques for testing.

The automotive sector is another major application area in the magnetic sensor market. The capabilities of these components such as contactless and wear-free measurements are increasing their adoption in automotive applications. The growing awareness of vehicle safety is increasing the adoption for effective and safer driving.

For instance, the steering wheel sensor LWS3 by Robert Bosch is particularly developed for the electronic stability program and is highly useful to prevent the vehicle from spinning. The GMR technology-based sensors provide features such as larger working distances, up to 360° range, and precise angular measurements, improving the vehicle performance and monitoring. The growth of electric and autonomous vehicles is expected to further influence the industry growth as these vehicles will be implemented with a number of electronic systems for accurate and safer driving.

Asia Pacific magnetic sensor market size will grow owing to the presence of large manufacturing industries and the consumer electronics market. Countries such as China and India have a large number of consumer electronic users, creating a demand for these components for navigation in smartphones and other electronic products. The implementation of these components in devices such as gaming, virtual reality headsets, gesture control, and other electronic devices will further add to the regional growth.

The magnetic sensor market can be hampered by technological drawbacks of certain sensor technologies. The hall effect sensor, for instance, is not capable of measuring the current flow at a distance greater than 10cm. Accuracy is another concern with hall effect technology as they can be affected by external magnetic fields, which can be generated by multiple sources such as power lines, electric poles, and others. The implementation of magnetic sensors in applications such as electric vehicles will also require considerable developments in terms of accuracy as the electric fields generated by vehicles can affect the sensor outputs.

Some of the major players in the magnetic sensor market are: Allegro Microsystems, Analog Devices, Asahi Kasei Microdevices, Infineon Technologies, Texas Instruments, TE Connectivity, STMicroelectronics, Magnetic Sensors, Honeywell International, NXP Semiconductors, and Memsic. The industry is well fragmented, and companies are focusing on new product developments to increase the market share.