Booming Camera Phone Sales Drive Image Sensor Market

InStat: In 2005, the image sensor market continued its strong growth, spurred by the booming camera phone market. Camera phones comprised over 70% of all digital cameras that shipped in 2005, and the vast majority of these devices used Complimentary Metal Oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, with the remainder using Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs). Because of the strength of the camera phone market, overall area CMOS image sensor shipments exceeded area CCD shipments by nearly a factor of three in 2005. This gap will continue to widen through 2010. CMOS will continue to flourish, due to its popularity in camera phones, web cameras, and toy cameras. CCDs will continue to thrive in markets such as digital still cameras, camcorders, and security cameras.

• Digital still cameras continued as the second-largest market for image sensors, with over 70 million units shipped in 2005.

• In 2005, embedded cameras in PCs hit the market, especially in notebook PCs.

• Automotive rear view cameras continued to show strong growth in higher-end sedans, sport utility vehicles and minivans.

In-Depth Analysis: Image Sensors 2006: CMOS Sensors Outship CCDs Publ 20061017