Image Sensors 2009: Camera Phones Continue to Dominate Shipments Worldwide

Abstract

The 2008 area image sensor market saw strong growth, primarily coming from two applications: camera phones and embedded PC cameras. Camera phones comprised over 80% of all shipped image sensors in 2008, with recent growth coming from the continuing penetration of dual-camera phones used primarily in Asian markets.

Embedded PC cameras, although not a major force today, should become extremely popular over the next few years, with the majority of notebook PCs shipping with them by 2012. Embedded PC cameras are expected to surpass digital still cameras in 2011. CCD continues to lose ground to CMOS in all applications, including digital still cameras, a market that was once dominated by CCDs. Although in years past CMOS had only been used in DSLR cameras, point-and-shoot digital cameras with CMOS are now on the market.

In 2008, CMOS sensors accounted for 87% of area image sensor shipments; by 2013, CCD is expected to comprise less than 4% of the total area image sensor market. This report focuses on the areaarray image sensor market and provides both CCD and CMOS annual penetration into 11 separate applications through 2013.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Camera phones comprised nearly 81% of area-array image sensor shipments in 2008, a share that is expected to shrink only slightly through 2013.
• CMOS sensors dominated image sensor shipments in 2008, with more than an 87% share.
• CMOS is beginning to make stronger inroads in digital still cameras. Point-and-shoot models using CMOS are now on the market.

• CMOS and CCD supplier vendor profiles.
• Unit shipments of area image sensors, split among CMOS and CCD image sensors, in 11 markets, including camera phones, digital still cameras, digital camcorders, security cameras, embedded PC cameras (both notebook and desktop), embedded LCD monitor cameras, and automotive applications.
• Background and history of developments in CCD and CMOS sensor technology.
• Analysis of where all the key image sensor applications are headed over the next five years.
• ASPs of both CMOS and CCD packaged sensors and die annually from 2006 to 2009.

• CMOS and CCD image sensor manufacturers
• Manufacturers of products that utilize image sensors, including: digital still cameras, digital camcorders, security cameras, toys, mobile phones, LCD monitors, mobile and desktop PCs.
• What Questions Does This Report Answer?
• What are the sizes of the CCD and CMOS image sensor markets through 2013?
• What are the biggest markets for CCD and CMOS image sensors, both now and over the next five years?
• What are the emerging markets for CCD and CMOS image sensors?
• What are the annual forecasts for growth in the area image sensor market through 2013?

• Aptina
• Canesta
• Canon
• Cypress Semiconductor
• DALSA
• Eastman Kodak
• Fuji
• MagnaChip
• OmniVision Technologies
• Panasonic
• Pixim
• Samsung
• Sharp
• Sony
• STMicroelectronics
• Toshiba

Methodology

This report covers the market for area image sensors, which includes CCDs and CMOS image sensors. The information contained in this report comes from both primary and secondary sources, and includes the following:

• Telephone, email, and in-person interviews with image sensor vendors in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.
• Telephone, email, and in-person interviews with camera vendors and other image sensor consumers in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.
• Background research about image sensor technology, including magazines, journals, trade publications, trade shows, and web searches.
• Analysis of previous In-Stat reports, and consultation with other In-Stat analysts.

Please note that the definition of image sensors used in this report consists of devices that capture an image for purposes of display or storage. Low-resolution devices that track position, such as optical mouse sensors, are not included in any shipment or forecast figures. This report tracks only the market for area image sensors, not linear image sensors.

Also note that the forecasts in this report refer to end-products that ship with image sensors. So the forecasts are for image sensor-enabled device shipments, rather than for shipment of discrete image sensors. All dollar amounts are in US dollars.