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This is the 5th in a series of reports from Strategies Unlimited on image sensors and it continues to be the most comprehensive and independent study on this subject. Strategies Unlimited has followed this topic since the CMOS image sensor began its renaissance, in the mid-1990s. This new report examines the changes in the market since the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, as well as trends in technology and applications. The report includes all image sensing applications and that operate in the visible spectrum, including scintillator-coated arrays for x-ray radiography. The study draws heavily on Strategies Unlimited’s deep expertise on this market, as well as extensive interviews with suppliers in Japan, Korea, the U.S., and Europe. The interviews in Asia are especially important, and combined with the breadth of the study, differentiate this report from others that focus on a narrower set of applications, or interviews with a narrower set of suppliers. The report notes that the image sensor market is in its first decline since Strategies Unlimited began tracking the market, in 1997. Growth will return in 2010, in the single- and low double-digits for the next few years. The current recession is driving the decline this year, but cycles will have more of an effect going forward, now that penetration in consumer products is high. Japan continues to dominate CCD production, at 90% of the world market, but it is losing its grip on the overall market as Samsung and others gain share in CMOS imagers, particularly for camera phones. Japan still has a strong share in the overall market, but the shift to Korea and Asia is just one indication that the recession is accelerating the transition to a new phase in the image sensor market, one where the growth rate is more moderate and business cycles become more significant.
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