High-end mobile phone new application wide range of CMOS detector shipments continue to dominate the market

With the adoption of mobile phones and emerging electronics products, CMOS sensors continued to be shipped in 2011 and extended to lead other image sensors. The CCD sensor is the rival product. Gradually fell into isolation.

According to the IHS iSuppli survey, shipments of CMOS detectors accounted for 92% of the overall image detector market last year, and shipments from the 1.6 billion group in 2010 to 2.1 billion units were overwhelmingly superior to rivals.

In contrast to the growth of CMOS detectors, the market for CCD detector shipments fell from 10% in 2010 to 8%. This situation will continue and expand. It is estimated that the shipment of CMOS detectors will account for 97% of the market in 2015, and CCD detectors will continue to decline due to irreversible changes.

Pamela Tufegdzic, an IHS consumer electronics analyst, points out that CMOS detectors are cheaper to manufacture, more efficient, and have faster data transfer speeds. As a result, Pamela Tufegdzic believes that CMOS detectors will continue to expand their market share under the growth of related products and applications, and the use of high-price CCD detectors will steadily decline.

Mobile phones are still the main application products of CMOS detectors. In 2011, about 79% of CMOS detector shipments were applied to mobile phones, followed by videoconferencing, and the device was mainly used in notebook lenses.

In addition, the application of CMOS is also becoming more and more widespread. The data shows that the use of CMOS detectors has gradually grown in the other two areas. One is the security system through network image monitoring, and the other is the automotive industry. CMOS detectors can be used in cameras used in reversing vehicles to warn of deviations from lanes, detection of dead angles, nighttime infrared detection, etc.

In contrast, the main application areas of CCD detectors are industrial markets and digital cameras, but even in these areas, the use of CCD detectors is falling. For example, it is estimated that the proportion of high-order monocular digital cameras using CCD detectors will decline from 12% in 2011 to 1% in 2014, as well as in the mobile phone market.

The use of backside illumination (BSI) technology is the key to achieving CCD advantages in CMOS in the camera field. High-end compact cameras from the iPhone 4S, Apple laptops, and Android phones have all started using CMOS detectors. BSI technology allows CMOS detectors to be bright. In low places, it can capture better picture quality than before.

Even if BSI's technology costs are high, it is estimated that high-end mobile phones will adopt this technology in the future. In 2012, about 56% of smart phones and high-end handheld devices will use this technology, and in the future, as the cost decreases, it is estimated that in 2015, 92% of the same-order products use BSI technology.

The current development of CMOS detectors is led by Sony (6758-JP) (SNE-US) followed by OmniVision Technologies (OVTI-US), Aptina Imaging, Sharp (6753-JP) and Samsung Electronics. In the market competition, IHS believes that the future business model of CMOS will be strengthened and more technologies will be promoted, and these companies will also reduce the cost of BSI technology.