Thanks to increased use in smartphone and automotive cameras, the CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) industry reached $10 billion for the first time this year. That’s just the beginning of an enormous shift in the industry, said a Jan. 28 industry report from Yole Développement.
It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.6 percent from 2014 to 2020, reaching a market value of $16.2 billion by 2020.
Part of the reason for this is that smartphones with two cameras have become ubiquitous. Other sectors are suffering – feature phone cameras and digital still-cameras are being replaced by smartphone cameras, which leads to industry consolidation. In particular, Sony has excelled in its production of mobile cameras, the report said.
CMOS image sensors are on the rise in cars as well as in phones. With the rise in camera-enabled automotive features from companies like Tesla, Nissan and Ford, CIS is moving from a “for display” application towards a “for sensing” application, the report said. This means that players such as processor and software providers will become key partners in the design and marketing of CIS products. Most CIS companies have seen growth of 30 to 50 percent in the automotive industry, Yole said. The market for CIS in the automotive sectors alone is expected to reach $800 million in revenue.
Yole has tracked the technological changes driving the CMOS sensor industry. Back side illumination (BSI) has captured more than 50 percent of CIS production and enabled a pixel size of 1.4 to 1.1 micrometers.
The future of CIS technology will demand small camera modules with high image quality and wide functionality, such as slow motion video, image analysis and motion control.
The full report can be found at Yole.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)