Image Sensor Market

MarketsandMarkets forecasts the image sensor market size to grow from USD 14.2 billion in 2017 to USD 24.8 billion by 2023, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7% during the forecast period. The major factors that are expected to be driving the image sensor market are increasing penetration of image sensors in automobiles, trend of miniaturization and dual camera in smartphones and tablets, and demand for improved medical imaging solutions. The objective of the report is to define, describe, and forecast the image sensor market size based on technology, processing type, spectrum, array type, vertical, and region.

Image Sensor Market by technology, the CMOS technology segment is expected to grow at the highest growth rate during the forecast period

By technology segment, CMOS technology segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. CMOS image sensors are preferred over CCD sensors owing to small size, low power consumption, ease of integration, faster frame rate, and lower manufacturing cost. Advancement in the CMOS image sensor technology has improved the performance of image sensors, which have increased the penetration of the CMOS technology in consumer electronics. Lower selling price and enhanced performance have boosted the market for the CMOS technology.

Image Sensor Market by processing type, 2D image sensor holds the largest share of the market

2D image sensor segment is expected to hold the largest market share. Two-dimensional image sensors help visualize essential structures that are important for various applications such as medical applications where accurate diagnosis and treatment planning are required. In medical applications, 2D image sensor is used in intraoral imaging. It is a common X-ray diagnostic tool for dentists used for a variety of different tasks such as diagnosing caries, endodontic file location, and inflammation of the teeth.

By spectrum, the non-visible spectrum segment is expected to grow at the highest growth rate during the forecast period

Among the spectrum segment, the non-visible spectrum segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The non-visible spectrum is not visible to human eyes and includes a light that comes from radio, infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray. This report comprises of only infrared and X-ray spectrum. Non-visible spectrum segment is further classified into infrared non-visible spectrum and x-ray light.

By array type, area image sensor holds the largest share of the market

Area image sensor array type segment is expected to hold the largest market share, owing to rising demand for camera modules in smartphones and tablets. Another reason for the rise in the use of area image sensors is that it offers features such as high sensitivity, high quality of images, and high performance. These features help in reducing noise through the use of technologies such as color noise reduction (CNR) and high dynamic range (HDR).

Image Sensor Market by vertical, the automotive segment is expected to grow at the highest growth rate during the forecast period

Among the vertical segment, the automotive segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Automotive vertical is believed to be the fastest growing vertical for the image sensor industry. The major reason driving the automotive industry is the increasing installation of ADAS in cars. According to MarketsandMarkets Analysis, the ADAS market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5%. With the growing market for ADAS, the penetration of image sensors is expected to increase. With the inclusion of ADAS, it is expected that each car will have around 10 cameras by 2030.

Asia Pacific to account for the largest market size during the forecast period.

Asia Pacific is expected to hold the largest market size in the image sensor market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is the largest and fastest-growing market because of the fact that more than 80% of the demand for image sensors is from the consumer electronics application, which includes smartphones and tablets, cameras, computers, wearable electronics. With the increasing penetration of dual camera in smartphones, the demand for image sensors is expected to increase. Automotive is another application which will contribute to the growth of the image sensor market in Asia Pacific.

Market Dynamics : Image Sensor Market

Driver: Increasing penetration of image sensors in automobiles

The application of image sensors in automobiles is propelling the growth of the image sensor market. The image sensor application in automobiles includes advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), dash camera, back camera, 360° surround, side mirror replacement, night vision, LiDAR driver monitoring, and gesture recognition. The growing importance of ADAS in the automobile sector is one of the factors supporting the growth of the image sensor market. The ADAS system uses image sensors to provide driver safety features such as parking assistance, collision avoidance systems, and lane-departure warning. According to OmniVision Technologies Inc. (US), the number of automotive image sensors sold annually will exceed 170 million by 2020.

Prominent players in the image sensor industry are focusing on launching new products for the automotive application. For instance, in October 2017, On Semiconductor (US) introduced Hayabusa CMOS sensor platform for the automotive sector. This CMOS image sensor platform brings new levels of performance and image quality for automotive applications such as ADAS, mirror replacement, autonomous driving, and rear and surround view systems.

Restraint: High manufacturing cost

Images captured using low-megapixel cameras have numerous drawbacks. The image quality of such images gets reduced while zooming in, cropping, or taking prints. Hence, the demand for high-megapixel cameras is growing. To increase the number of pixels, manufacturers either have to increase the chip size or shrink the pixel pitch. However, a larger chip size would incur higher cost. Also, larger chips because of its larger footprint contradict the idea of lean/thin device. Thus, the only way to produce an image with high resolution and low cost is to shrink the pixel pitch, which is a very complex and expensive process. In most cases, the shrinking of pixel pitch results in reduced photo sensing area, which affects the image performance. As a result, it is inhibiting the growth of the image sensor market.

Opportunity: Innovation by OEMs of image sensors will lead to the increase in the use of image sensors in applications such as machine vision, ADAS, and wearables

The use of image sensors is increasing with the growing number of applications related to imaging. The advancement in the digital technology is one of the main drivers for the development of image sensors, thus driving the image sensor market growth. Nowadays, various technical functions can be integrated into a single device. This is because of the growing demand for miniaturized devices and also because of the push strategy acquired by manufacturers to be competitive in the market. These advancements are creating opportunities for image sensors in applications such as machine vision, ADAS, and aerospace & defense. Many companies are developing products that cater to the unmet needs of the existing image sensors. These newly developed products further create opportunities for image sensors in new applications and markets.

Challenge: Decreasing market for CCD technology and migration from CCD to CMOS is posing as a challenge

CCD technology follows a different value chain compared to CMOS technology. OEMS are looking to adopt CMOS technology in place of CCD. Thus, migration from CCD to CMOS is posing as a challenge for the image sensor market as it requires huge investments but the OEMs are left with no choice.

OEMs of various applications such as consumer electronics, healthcare, automotive, and security & surveillance may face challenges to meet their customers’ need because of the diminishing market for CCD technology. The implementation of CCD in various applications has already stopped. In the future, it is expected that almost all applications would be based on CMOS image sensors. The increasing popularity of CMOS sensors over the past few years has impacted the use of CMOS sensors in various CCD-based applications. Improved image quality, sensitivity, dynamic range, and speed offered by CMOS have outpaced the CCD technology. All major image sensor suppliers, including Sony (Japan), ams AG (Austria), e2v (UK), and On Semiconductor (US), are expanding their product offering with CMOS image sensor. In March 2015, Sony announced that it would discontinue the production of CCDs by 2017 and focus on the growth of CMOS image sensors. The announcement further stated that imaging systems equipped with CCD image sensors have reached the end of their life cycle. However, in due course of time, with a larger number of players investing in CMOS and replacing CCD completely will be able to overcome the short term challenge.

Scope of the Report

The research report categorizes the image sensor to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-segments:

Image Sensor Market by Technology

• CCD
• CMOS
• FSI
• BSI
• Hybrid

Image Sensor Market by Processing Type

• 2D image sensor
• 3D image sensor

Image Sensor Market by Spectrum:

• Visible spectrum
• Non-visible spectrum
• Infrared non-visible spectrum
• X-ray light

Image Sensor Market by Array Type:

• Area image sensor
• Linear image sensor

Image Sensor Market by Vertical:

• Consumer electronics
• Smartphones and tablets
• Desktops and laptops
• Commercial copier and scanner
• Photography and videography
• Residential surveillance
• Wearables
• Commercial drone
• Service robots
• Automotive
• Rear- and side-view
• Forward-looking ADAS
• In-cabin ADAS
• Camera mirror system
• Medical and life sciences
• X-ray imaging
• Endoscopy
• Industrial
• Machine vision
• Industrial surveillance and monitoring
• Robotic vision
• Commercial
• Surveillance
• Aerospace, defense, and homeland security

Image Sensor Market by Geography

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Rest of Europe (Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Turkey)
• Asia Pacific (APAC)
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Rest of APAC (Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, and Vietnam)
• Rest of the World (RoW)
  • Middle East & Africa
  • South America

Key Market Players

Sony (Japan), Samsung (South Korea), OmniVision (US), On Semiconductor (US), Panasonic (Japan), Canon (Japan), SK Hynix (South Korea), STMicroelectronics (Switzerland), Pixart Imaging (Taiwan), PixelPlus (South Korea).

Sony held a leading position in the image sensor market in 2016. Sony focuses on product differentiation for the image sensor segment as Sony believes it has a technological advantage in this segment. Sony also focuses on geographic areas, such as Japan, where Sony believes it has a competitive edge. Sony accounts for the largest market share in the image sensor market. The company invests mainly in research and development of image sensors. This is evident by the fact that the company has launched five new products in the image sensor segment in 2016 and 2017.

The company is also expanding the manufacturing facility for image sensors because of the increasing demand for image sensors in smartphone application. For example, in the fiscal year 2016, Sony signed an agreement with Toshiba Corporation (Japan) to acquire semiconductor fabrication facilities, equipment, and related assets. The company invested an additional amount of 45 billion yen for the image sensor fabrication capacity.

Recent Developments

• In November 2017, Bosch (Germany) selects On Semiconductor (US) as its supplier for image sensors for ADAS applications in the automotive sector.
• In October 2017, Sony (Japan) released stacked CMOS image sensor with the highest effective resolution of 7.42 MP for automotive cameras. With this product development, Sony introduced a stacked configuration.
• In October 2017, Samsung (South Korea) launched two new ISOCELL image sensors: ISOCELL Fast 2L9 with Dual Pixel technology and ISOCELL Slim 2X7 with Tetracell technology. As the market demand for sleeker smartphones with advanced features increases, these image sensors offer high resolution in small chip packages, delivering detailed pictures in low-light environments without camera bump.
• In October 2017, OmniVision (US) introduced OS05A20, an image sensor to implement OmniVision’s Nyxel near-infrared (NIR) technology. The 5-megapixel color image sensor leverages both PureCel pixel architecture and Nyxel technology to capture bright, crisp videos and images during the day and night. The new sensor has achieved a significant improvement in quantum efficiency when compared to OmniVision’s earlier-generation sensors. The demand for network surveillance cameras is expected to grow more in the near future because of the increasing investment in city surveillance and border protection. Technology improvements are crucial for surveillance equipment providers to remain competitive in this growing sector.

Critical questions the report answers:

• Where will all these developments take the industry in the long term?
• What are the upcoming trends for the image sensor market?
• Which segment provides the most opportunity for growth?
• Who are the leading vendors operating in this market?
• What are the opportunities for new market entrants?

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