Sensors

High sales expected for image sensors

11th May 2016
Joe Bush
0

A new report from IC Insights has shown that CMOS image sensors are in the middle of an unprecedented string of record high annual sales thanks to the rapid spread of embedded digital imaging technology into a wide range of end use applications that go far beyond smartphones and stand alone cameras.

The report, ‘A Market Analysis and Forecast for Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators and Discretes’, automotive systems are forecast to be the fastest growing application for CMOS image sensors with worldwide sales rising by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55% in the next five years to $2.2bn in 2020, or about 14% of the market’s projected $15.2bn total (Figure 1).

After the automotive segment, the highest growth rates for CMOS image sensor sales in the next five years are expected to be in security and surveillance (a CAGR of 36% to $912m), medical/scientific applications (a CAGR of 34% to $867m), toys/video games (a CAGR of 32% to $274m) and industrial systems (a CAGR of 18% to $897m).

According to the 360 page report contains a detailed five year forecast of sales, unit shipments and average selling prices (ASPs) for more than 30 individual product types and device categories in optoelectronics, sensors/actuators and discretes.

Imaging applications in automotive electronics are the next major market opportunity for CMOS image sensors because more automated safety features are being loaded into new vehicles. Over a dozen image sensors could eventually be used in vehicles to watch passengers, look outside for potential accidents or record video of crashes or other incidents on the road. Image sensors have already seen strong growth in cars, primarily for rearview back-up cameras, but they are also increasingly being used in new collision detection and automatic braking systems. The report also claims that efforts to create self-driving cars will accelerate the growth potential for image sensors in the automotive market.

Today’s largest CMOS image sensor application (camera phones) is expected to grow by a CAGR of just one percent to $7.3bn in 2020, or 48% of the market total versus 70% in 2015. Revenues for CMOS image sensors in camera modules used in PCs and tablet computers are projected to rise by a CAGR of about six percent to $973m in 2020, while sensor sales for stand alone digital cameras are expected to shrink by a CAGR of -2% to 623 million in five years, according to the report.

Worldwide CMOS image sensor revenue grew 12% in 2015 to $9.9bn, which was the fifth consecutive record high annual sales volume achieved by this optoelectronics product category since 2011. The 2016 O-S-D Report’s forecast shows CMOS image sensors continuing to set record high sales levels for at least another five years in a row, growing by a CAGR of 9.0% from 2015 to 2020.

In the previous five year period (2010-2015), CMOS image sensor sales increased by a CAGR of 17.0% with much of that strong annual growth rate being driven by the market’s recovery from the severe economic recession in 2008-2009 and the emergence of new embedded camera applications and image recognition system interfaces, which are now fuelling the next wave of growth in imaging devices.

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