Status of the CMOS Image Sensor Industry 2024

Report objectives

Identity card

Scope of the report

Methodologies & definition

Imaging activity

Companies cited

Historical forecasts

What we got right, what we got wrong

Three-page summary

Executive summary

Context

• Where do we find CMOS image sensors?
• Semiconductor and CMOS image sensor market dynamics
• Geopolitical trends

Market forecast

• Looking back at the 2023 CIS market
• CIS revenue forecast 2019 – 2029
• CIS Shipment Forecast 2019 – 2029
• CIS ASP Forecast 2016 – 2029
• CIS wafer production Forecast 2019 – 2029
• Market figures with Yole’s segmentation

Market trends

• Mobile
  • Mobile market dynamics and smartphone market breakdown by player
  • Deceleration in the increase of the average number of cameras per smartphone
  • Event-base / multispectral / 3D sensing trends
  • The flagship smartphone camera competition
  • Resolution and pixel size strategies in flagship models
  • Triple stack architecture to coming to smartphone photography
• Consumer
  • AR/VR / Vacuum cleaner robots / Smartwatches / Smart TV systems and camera market dynamics and trends
• Productivity
  • Tablet and laptop market dynamics
• Automotive
  • Automotive market dynamics
  • Safety regulation samples
  • ADAS / Viewing / In-cabin trends
• Medical
  • General dynamics
  • Endoscopy / Tomography trends
• Security
  • Commercial / Infrastructure / Smart Home Camera market dynamics
• Industrial
  • Industrial – facing challenges despite a positive long-term trend
  • Industrial - product trends at camera and system level
• Defense, aerospace, institutional research
  • Few generalities on the governments and defense-oriented market dynamics
  • Aerospace and research trends

Market shares and supply chain

• Market shares, players, and rankings
• CMOS image sensor ecosystem
  • Player positioning by market (synthesis)
  • CIS and logic wafer production capacity
  • Noteworthy news
  • Strategy synthesis
  • Riding the wave of China's mobile industry growth resurgence

Technology trends

• Introduction
• 3D sensing and NIR optimization
• Pixel size, resolution and optical format
• CMOS image sensor architecture, process nodes, logic
  • Transistor architecture for logic beyond 28nm
  • Emerging use cases of stacked architectures
• Emerging technologies

Outlook

Yole Group related products

About Yole Group

The CMOS image sensor industry continue its transition with a 4.7% projected growth.

From 2023 to 2029, CIS shipments are expected to rise from 6.8 billion to 8.6 billion units. The CIS market is experiencing mixed growth. Smartphone sales projections are down, productivity imaging (laptops, tablets) is facing decline. Automotive cameras benefit from safety regulations and automation demands. Security CIS revenues fell in 2022 but resumed growth in 2023 due to increasing security needs across various applications. Industrial CIS growth is driven by factory automation and new machine vision applications in agriculture and traffic monitoring. The average selling price (ASP) for CIS products exceeded $3 in 2022 and is expected to stay above $3. Revenue is projected to grow from $21.8 billion to $28.6 billion, a 4.7% CAGR. Despite a drop in CIS wafer production in 2022, a 3.8% CAGR is forecasted for the next six years, with stacked CIS wafers maintaining a 75-77% production share. Multi-stacked products, especially triple-stack architecture, are gaining popularity.

Sony progressing towards 50% market share, in a reshuffling ecosystem.

In 2023, CIS market volumes remained stable with a slight revenue increase, confirming a significant market transformation, and an increase in average selling prices. The US-China economic conflict has initially benefiting Chinese CIS players due to US sanctions on Huawei, but now leading them to target higher-value markets like Automotive and Industrial. Sony continues to grow with its LYTIA brand and Fab 5 expansion, while Samsung and SK Hynix shift focus to memory business due to a demand drop. Onsemi and SK Hynix's growth has plateaued, and STMicroelectronics diversifies with global shutter products. Galaxycore struggles in lower-end markets, while Smartsens recovers in mobile and automotive sectors. By 2024/2025, Chinese smartphone market growth will benefit local CIS suppliers. The automotive segment will grow steadily, with Sony and Samsung competing against Onsemi and Omnivision. Investments in emerging technologies have slowed, but new products are expected by 2024 and 2025.

Technology proliferation for more performance and sensing modalities.

The CIS industry is advancing with innovations improving performance, integrability, and new sensing capabilities. Amid consumer market stagnation, leaders focus on enhancing CIS value, emphasizing better low-light performance, data management, compactness, and lower power consumption. Sony’s triple-stack sensor has seen significant design wins. Omnivision and STMicroelectronics explore similar architectures, with logic stacking moving towards the 22nm node and FDSOI for ultra-low power sensing. Canon’s SPAD-based color camera improves low-light security imaging. Event-based imaging is emerging, with investments in startups like Prophesee. New metasurface technologies enhance product compactness and performance for biometrics, eye tracking, and robotics. SWIR imaging gains interest for consumer and automotive markets. The transition from imaging to sensing is confirmed as CIS technology expands into X-ray, UV, SWIR, polarization, and multispectral imaging.

ADAPS Photonics, Alpsentek, Amazon Blink, Amazon Echo, Ambarella, ams OSRAM, Analog Devices, Apple, Arm, Artilux, Axis, BAE Systems, Bosch, Brigates, Brillnics, Broadcomm, BYD Semiconductor, Caeleste, Canon, Celepixel, Clairpixel, Continental, Dahua, DB Hitek, Detection Technology, DJI, Dyson, Emberion, Excelitas Technologies, Fastree 3D, Fortsense, Forza Silicon, Galaxycore, GE Healthcare, Gigajot, GlobalFoundries, Goodix, Google Nest, Gpixel, Hamamatsu, HHGrace, Himax Imaging, Hikvision, Himax, HLMC, Honeywell, Honor, HP, Huawei, II-VI, ImagerLabs, Imasenic, IMEC, Infineon, Inivation, Intel, Intel Foundry Services, ISDI, Jiangsu, Ketek, Lenovo, LG, Lumentum, Lumina Technology, Lumentum, Luminar, Lumotive, Magic Leap, Magna, Mantis Vision, Megvii, Meizu, Melexis, Meta, Metalenz, Microsoft, Mobileye, Movidius, Moxtek, Nexchip, NILT, Nokia, Nuvoton, NXP, Olympus, Omnivision, Oneplus, onsemi, Oppo, Panasonic, Parrot, Pixart, PixelEXX, Pixelplus, Photolitics, pmd, Prophesee, Pyxalis, Qualcomm, Qurv, Rayence, Realme, Redlen, Samsung, SemiConductor Devices, Sensetime, Sharp, Siemens, Silicon Integrated, Silicon Optronics, Silina, Sionyx, SK Hynix, Smartsens, SMIC, Socionext, Soitec, Sony, STMicroelectronics, SWIR Vision Systems, Teledyne, Texas Instruments, Toppan, Toshiba, Tower Semiconductor, TPSCo, Transsion, Trieye, TSMC, UMC, Valeo, Varex Imaging, Visionary AI, Vivo, VoxelSensors, X-Fab, Xiaomi, XMC, Xperi, ZTE, and more.

Report objectives

• To furnish readers with a market-dynamics-based scenario for the CMOS image sensor market, providing an understanding of the impact of CMOS imaging technology on the semiconductor industry:
  • CIS revenue forecasts, shipment forecasts, ASP forecasts, and wafer production forecasts over the 2023-2029 period
  • Technical market segmentation
  • Application range
• To offer key technical insights and analyses into market trends:
  • An understanding of CIS markets and applications (mobile, consumer, computing, automotive, industrial, medical, security, and aerospace/defense)
  • Market and technology dynamics
  • Emerging markets and technologies, trends and roadmaps
• To deliver an in-depth understanding of the ecosystem:
  • Who are the players? What are their relationships inside this ecosystem?
  • Which are the key suppliers to watch, and what technologies do they provide?
  • CIS player rankings, dynamics, and market shares

Key Features

• 2019-2029 forecast for CMOS image sensors (Munits, $M).
• 2019-2029 forecast for wafer production.
• Market trends for all market segments (mobile, consumer, automotive, medical, security, industrial, defense & aerospace) with in-depth analysis.
• Player market share by market segment.
• Player production capacity.
• Noteworthy news from the last three years and players’ strategy overview.
• Technology trends, pixel size, resolution, sensor architecture.
• Roadmap on emerging technologies, SWIR, neuromorphic, low-light…

What’s new?

• Updated market forecast for each market segment.
• Player ranking update for each market segment.
• Updated wafer production forecast.
• Deeper analysis of ecosystem dynamics and technologies.