CMOS image sensor market regains growth momentum
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A new wave of portable camera products is driving a revived sales growth in CMOS image sensors, according a report by IC Insights.
After experiencing a rough patch in the second half of the last decade, the segment is now expected to set record breaking sales through 2016.
The 2012 Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators, and Discretes (OSD) Report notes that the momentum is fuelled by the popularity of smartphones and tablets, as well as new embedded digital imaging applications being designed into cars, medical equipment and security networks.
The report forecasts an 8% increase in CMOS image sensor sales in 2012 to a record high of $6.3 billion, compared to $5.8 billion in 2011 when the market climbed 29%. The 2011 increase was the first back to back annual sales gain for CMOS image sensors since 2006.
Automotive systems are the fastest growing CMOS image sensor application with sales predicted to reach $1.8 billion in 2016, or approximately 17% of the market's total dollar volume that year.
IC Insights predicts that camera phones will continue to be the largest application with sales expected to hit $5.4 billion, or 50% of the overall revenues, compared to approximately $4.2 billion or 72% of the total in 2011.
