Status of the CMOS Image Sensor Industry 2022

Glossary 

Table of contents 

Report objectives 

Scope of the report 

Report methodology 

About the authors 

Companies cited in this report 

What we got right, what we got wrong 

Who should be interested in this report? 

3-page summary 

Executive summary   

Context 

• CMOS Image sensor market segmentation
• Semiconductor shortages: the reasons
• The U.S. ban and the entity list
• China’s CMOS image sensor landscape
• CMOS image sensors penetration vs. CCD

CMOS Image Sensor market forecast   

• CIS vs. semiconductor market growth
• 2021 CIS revenue breakdown by market and by player
• 2021 CIS revenue breakdown by market segment
• 2017 - 2027 CIS volume shipment forecast
• 2017 - 2027 CIS revenue forecast 
• 2017 - 2027 average selling price forecast
• 2017 - 2027 CIS wafer production forecast

Players & rankings 

• 2021 CIS revenue rankings by player
• 2021 CIS mobile market revenue breakdown by player
• 2021 CIS consumer photography market revenue breakdown by player
• 2021 CIS consumer home IoT market revenue breakdown by player
• 2021 CIS computing market revenue breakdown by player
• 2021 CIS automotive market revenue breakdown by player
• 2021 CIS medical market revenue breakdown by player 
• 2021 CIS security market revenue breakdown by player
• 2021 CIS industry market revenue breakdown by player
• 2021 CIS defense & aerospace market revenue breakdown by player

Ecosystem 

• CMOS image sensor – ecosystem, supply chain, competitive landscape
• CIS and LOGIC foundries capacity
• Foundry investments
• Details on automotive and security markets supply chains
• CMOS image sensor – M&A historical timeline
• CMOS image sensor – noteworthy news of  the last two years

Mobile market trends 

• Mobile market dynamics
• Mobile market volume forecast by player
• Market drivers
• Mobile phone market trends
• Imaging and sensing trends

Consumer market trends 

• Consumer market dynamics
• Consumer photography volume forecast
• Consumer home IoT volume forecast
• Consumer market trends

Computing market trends 

• Computing market dynamics
• Computing volume forecast
• Computing market trends

Automotive market trends  

• Automotive market dynamics
• Automotive imaging trends
• Automotive  market trends & camera mix – forecast

Medical market trends                         

Security market trends

Industrial market trends

Defense & aerospace market trends

Technology trends

• General introduction
• Pixel size, resolution, optical formats and technology nodes
• Sensor architecture and stacking technologies
• 3D imaging & sensing
• Emerging CIS technologies

Conclusion & outlook

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In 2021, the CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) market revenue bottomed out at 2.8% Year-over-Year (YoY) growth, reaching $21.3B, starting a new growth cycle

This is the slowest YoY growth in a decade, following the 24.8% of 2019 and 7.3% of 2020. After this bubble that occurred because of CIS product stockpiling by some China-based companies from the fear of U.S. sanctions, the market has stabilized. Full-year 2021 revenues reached $21.3B, thanks to the fourth quarter being the best-ever for CIS production.

A new growth cycle is now expected, supported by opportunities in mobile, but also other markets such as automotive and security imaging. We expect that in coming years CIS industry growth will catch back up with the general semiconductor growth rate, reaching $31.4B by 2027, with a 6.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR).

Chinese players are overperforming, while Sony announces its ambition

The CIS ecosystem is still dominated by historical leaders. Sony, Samsung, Omnivision and STMicroelectronics are all strong players in mobile and consumer markets.

Following the consequences of COVID-19 and the US Huawei ban Sony had halted growth in 2020. That allowed the competition to raise their market shares and take diversify their customers. However, in June 2022, Sony has confirmed its ambition to get that market share back, aiming at 60% by 2025. This announcement should reinforce production capacity and R&D capital expenditure (capex) in coming years.

The Chinese CIS leaders Omnivision, Galaxycore and Smartsens are outperforming the competition. They are growing strongly as an immediate consequence of U.S.-China trade tensions, particularly in the security camera market. Galaxycore is strengthening its fifth position, approaching $1B revenue.

Technology evolution will be key to support the CIS market growth and its capacity investments

Beyond imaging quality, technology is evolving to get to better light sensitivity and data monitoring, lower power and greater compactness. There is a trend to extend silicon into short-wave infrared (SWIR) imaging. Event-based imaging is coming to bring a new paradigm with unprecedented low latency, allowing applications. Quanta CIS and single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are evolving to go further in low light imaging. Metasurfaces are the ultimate evolution of flat optics to decrease the camera module cost, volume and bring new functionalities.

Beyond the race for smaller pixels, a new trend is coming in the form of larger pixels and sensors, favoring image quality and advanced features. Both will require the development of further logic technology nodes towards 28 and 22nm.

One of the most desired manufacturing capacities is in-pixel hybrid stacking, currently mostly dedicated to mobile applications. There is a trend for stacking more intelligence in the sensor, aiming at bringing the memory, processing, and computing as close as possible to the sensing part. The next technology challenge should be the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) close to or within the sensors.

Key Features

• Context of the CMOS Image Sensor industry
• CMOS Image Sensor market forecast: volume, revenue and Average Selling Price
• CMOS Image Sensor market forecast: wafer production
• CMOS Image Sensor market breakdown by market segment and player
• Main players and rankings: mobile, consumer, computing, automotive, medical, security, industrial, defense & aerospace
• Ecosystem, supply chain and competitive landscape
• Market trends: mobile, consumer, computing, automotive, medical, security, industrial, defense & aerospace
• Technology trends: pixel size, resolution and technology nodes
• Technology trends: sensor architecture, stacking, 3D sensing, and emerging technologies

What's new

• Updated market forecasts for each market segment
• Player ranking update for each market segment
• Foundry activity and investments
• Mobile survey analysis: distribution model, CIS spending, camera resolution volume, revenue and by player breakdown
• Update on pixel size and technology nodes roadmap for CMOS image sensor and logic, stacking technologies, sensor architecture
• New CIS technologies: low light imaging, event-based, SWIR imaging and metasurfaces
• Emerging technologies roadmap

Product objectives

• Provide scenarios and understand the CMOS image sensor market and industry:
  • Revenue forecast, shipment forecast, ASP forecast
  • Application range and technical market segmentation
• Offer key technical insights into market and technology trends:
  • Key applications
  • Market and technology dynamics
  • Emerging markets and roadmaps
• Deliver an in-depth understanding of the ecosystem:
  • Who are the players? What are the relationships?
  • Who are the key suppliers to watch, and what technologies do they provide?

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