KOREA: CMOS image sensor makers eye new applications

Despite stiff competition in the market, coupled by declining average selling prices (ASPs) for CIS products, the worldwide CMOS image sensor (CIS) market is expected to increase from $3.2 billion in 2005 and surge to $5.6 billion by 2008, according to research firm Gartner Dataquest Inc. Fueling the growth of this segment are new profitable applications, such as automotive, communication, security, automotive, computer and medical that were conventionally dominated by charge coupled device (CCD) image sensors. Industry observers note, however, that once the market settles, only the major CIS players will survive.



In South Korea, aggregate volume shipment from top CIS suppliers reached 337,237 units in the first half of 2007. Shipments are expected to further increase in the second half due to the popularity of dual camera phones and digital still cameras (DSCs), as primary applications. According to a report from iSuppli Corp., mobile phones were the dominant application for CMOS sensors, accounting for 88 percent of total shipments in 2005, and are expected to account for 84 percent of shipments by 2010.



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Encouraged by this trend, South Korean makers of image sensors are trying to grab a wider share of the market by improving product development and acquiring higher-end production and testing equipment. These makers are emphasizing on low-cost image sensors with higher resolution, multiple functions, small size, and low power consumption. Moreover, makers are reducing the die size through improved wafer design.



Leading CIS suppliers, such as Micron, Samsung, Omni Vision, Toshiba, ST Micro, SiliconFile and Sony are currently targeting CIS products with 1.75µm2 for wafers of less than 90nm. These makers have better design technology and can produce large amounts of wafers at low cost.



Said Jean Mann Choo, head of SiliconFile Technologies Inc.’s Strategy and Planning Team, “A ¼--inch optical format is ideal for most CISs used in mobile phones, due to camera module’s size limitations.” The company further notes, that as makers shrink the pixel size of their CIS products, enhancing resolution using low light has become a major concern. Hence, makers, most large companies, have developed a technology for processing less than 90nm.



SiliconFile Technologies is now focusing on the production of ¼-inch 2M CIS with 2.25µm pixel size, suited to camera networks, medical equipment and consumer electronic products. The company’s sensor technology enhances image quality by reducing FPN, horizontal and vertical line noise and random noise, and supports 15fps (UXGA) and 30fps (SVGA) frame rate.



The fill factor of SiliconFile’s ¼-inch 3M CISs no longer has the plain-old 4T architecture, and has increased from 30 to 60 percent through the propriety shared pixel of the company. Sensitivity degradation, which occurs in smaller pixels, has dramatically improved.



Likewise, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd – the component arm of Samsung, is gearing up for the next-generation camera phone technology by increasing production of its 3MP CIS – the core in hinge-mounted modules in camera phones. The product features improve resolution, competing in size and cost with current CCD imagers found in DSCs. Currently shipping 4 million units of 3MP CIS products, Samsung plans to ramp production in the next few years. It expects to generate $9 billion in revenue by 2010.



Generally, CIS makers in South Korea expect 2MP products to finally overtake CCD this year. Makers also forecast that higher resolution image sensors, such as 3MP and even 5MP models to dominate the market in the near term.



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