CMOSIS market reaching a value of almost USD 13bn by 2018

It’s likely that the consumer market will benefit from new mobile technologies. As such, we foresee consumer applications (tablets, DSC etc.) to be the growth driver over the next five years (which is the opposite of the previous five years, which were driven exclusively by mobile applications). Moreover, after being dominated by CCD, DSC applications are now shifting towards CMOS. And while DSLR will be a substitution market, the next wave is likely to be automotive applications, which could become CIS’ third big market. Indeed, the CIS sensor market in automotive is showing steady growth, which is expected to continue in the coming years; possibly become CIS’ third-largest CIS market. Automotive also demands new technologies such as high dynamicrange sensors and near infra-red response, and will benefit (with appropriate optimization) from technology developments in the handset market. A shift from driving assistance applications to security-based applications may imply significant quality and reliability design improvements in the near future, possibly leading to traditional automotive product providers entering the market with more exuberance. Many other emerging applications are also set to drive CIS’ future growth, such as wearable electronics (i.e. smart watches), machine vision, security & surveillance, and medical applications. These applications are likely to be in position for strong growth in the mid and long-term.