With a market share of over 50%, is Sony CIS really unmatched?-EEWORLD

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Sony maintains its advantage in the field of CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) image sensors. Although the shipment volume of major user smartphones has reached the ceiling, the image sensor market will continue to grow due to the expansion of the "multi-camera" trend in which each phone is equipped with multiple sensors. However, Huawei, which has been leading the "multi-camera trend", has lowered its smartphone shipment target, and the market outlook has become worrying.

According to data from British research firm IHS Markit, Sony's share in 2018 was 50.1% in terms of value. Although it was less than in 2017, it still controlled more than half of the market, and the gap with the second-ranked Samsung Electronics of South Korea (20.5%) was still huge.

Sony has an advantage in sensors for smartphones. The performance of smartphone cameras has gradually improved due to the popularity of social networking sites such as "Instagram". There is a huge demand for Sony sensors that have advantages in high image quality and large format. The technology accumulated by Sony since the CCD (charge-coupled device) era has blossomed in smartphones and has become one of the main sources of profit.

In Japan, Sony's image sensor factories are operating at a high rate, and will implement a 600 billion yen facility investment in the three years to 2020. The investment will be officially launched in 2019, and with an eye on long-term demand expansion, the company is also discussing the construction of a new plant at a scale of 100 billion yen.

Samsung Electronics seems to have converted some of its memory production lines to produce CMOS. Samsung's market share has increased year-on-year by using its own sensors in its smartphones, which have the largest global market share.

The automotive sector is receiving attention, and the demand for sensors for autonomous driving is expected to grow. OmniVision Technologies, which was acquired by a Chinese company, ranked third, and ON Semiconductor, which ranked fourth, are also focusing on the CMOS image sensor field, hoping to surpass Sony.

What will affect the market share and market size of image sensors in 2019 is Huawei's actions. Sony and other companies supply sensors to Huawei. Huawei's launch of smartphones with three rear cameras has a huge impact on the market.

How long can we stay ahead?

Sony's image sensor market share ranks first in the world. The Kumamoto Technology Center, which produces image sensors, started supplying samples of new models in March. Sensors with the highest resolution in the industry are supplied to automobile manufacturers in Japan and abroad. Sony strives to meet the demand for "electronic eyes" for self-driving cars.

Sony announced its entry into the automotive image sensor market four years ago. Although its seriousness was questioned at first, Sony's list of partners now includes major automotive companies such as Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, and South Korea's Hyundai Motor. What is striking is the presence of two image processing semiconductor giants competing for dominance in the field of autonomous driving.

The two giants are Nvidia of the United States and Mobileye, an Israeli company owned by Intel of the United States. Both companies produce semiconductors that serve as the "brain" of autonomous driving. Sony began to supply models that can be easily connected to the semiconductors of these two companies from 2017 to 2018. "All-round diplomacy" is carried out through these two sensors with production numbers that differ by exactly 100.

Sony aims to become the world's No. 1 in automotive image sensors by the 2020s. However, "there are still areas and targets where progress has not been made" (Semiconductor Division Managing Director Terushi Shimizu). One of Sony's measures to make up for the shortfall shocked the industry in the fall of 2018.

That is, Renesas Electronics' automotive executive director Takashi Omura joined Sony on September 1. It is reported that Sony noticed Omura's resignation and extended an olive branch to him early. Sony puts 40% of its technical graduates into the semiconductor department, and according to a talent agency, Sony is also very active in social recruitment.

Sony's semiconductor division mainly supplied internally for a long time, and only officially started selling to the outside world after the 1990s. Shimizu said, "We spent a lot of money in the past (in the semiconductor field), but it was pointed out that it was unnecessary." However, in the structural reform, the traditional main businesses such as TVs and cameras have shifted to a strategy that does not blindly pursue market share. In the electronics department, the image sensor business has replaced the TV and camera businesses and has grown rapidly, holding 50% of the global market share.

Japanese research firm Techno Systems Research said, "Sony is clearly in the lead in image sensor technology." Analysts believe that the semiconductor field, in which Sony will invest up to 700 billion yen by 2020, "is one of the few growth areas, but also has risks." Now we can hear the footsteps of Chinese and Korean companies catching up.

Samsung Electronics of South Korea, which ranks second in the world in market share, seems to have converted some of its memory production lines to image sensor production by 2018. SK Hynix of South Korea is also believed to be discussing formal entry into this field, and about four Chinese companies will officially start the production of image sensors in 2019.

Lee Keun-soo, chief analyst at research firm IHS Markit Japan, said, "It would not be surprising if the market size of image sensors doubles from what it is now." If the market size expands, more companies will enter this field to reap the huge rewards. It is said that "Japanese technicians have appeared in the factories of Chinese companies," and the desperate catch-up of Chinese companies poses a threat to Sony.

The electronics division has long been the "face" of Sony. In the semiconductor field, which has become the main force of the division, equipment investment is now expanding, but the pace will slow down after 2022. In addition to being able to supply image sensors to cameras, etc., it is also expected to invest the cash earned in other divisions. The success or failure of the business that was once considered a burden not only determines the future of the electronics division, but also the direction of the entire group.

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