A recent Strategy Analytics research report observed that the smartphone CMOS image sensor (CIS) market achieved a revenue growth of more than 10 percent year-over-year in H1 2021. Sony Semiconductor held the top spot with 42 percent revenue share followed by Samsung System LSI and OmniVision Technologies. Together, the top three vendors captured almost 80 percent revenue share in the global smartphone image sensor market in H1 2021.
Smartphone OEMs active adoption of high-resolution CIS and low-pixel CIS products for multicamera applications provided accelerated momentum to image sensor manufacturers. The report expects the introduction of new high-resolution and large format CIS products from the major vendors to boost the revenue opportunities in the market.
For example, earlier this year, Sony Corporation announced the pending release of the IMX661, a large format 56.73-mm diagonal (3.6-type) CMOS image sensor for industrial equipment. With a global shutter function and a pixel size of 3.45 μm, the sensor delivers the industry’s highest effective pixel count of 127.68 megapixels. This is nearly 10 times larger than the common 1.1-type image sensor corresponded to the C mount lens for industrial equipment.
Among its contributions, Samsung’s Smart Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) feature permits multiple exposures in a single shot, resulting in greater detail for both bright and dark areas. ISOCELL Fast sensors with advanced Phase Detecting Auto Focus (PDAF), such as Dual Pixel and Super PD sensor, identify the distance of fast-moving objects even in low light for faster and accurate auto focusing. The ISOCELL Slim provides an industry-leading 0.8-µm ISOCELL providing flexibility for slimmer designs.
Also, earlier this year, OmniVision Technologies, Inc., announced its OH0TA OVMed® medical image sensor with a record breaking package size of just 0.55 mm x 0.55 mm. Featuring a 1.0 micron pixel and a 1/31” optical format, the sensor quadruples the RGB image resolution to 400 x 400, or 160 Kpixels, at 30 frames per second, while reducing the power consumption by 20% to 20 mW.
Filed Under: Sensor Tips