Contents 1. Introduction
One of the fastest growing markets in the semiconductor industry is being driven by businesses in the solid-state imaging sector. An overview of the world-wide CIS (CMOS Image Sensor) market is illustrated in Figure 1.4.1. The actual CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from 2010 until 2019 was 15.2% in units and 16.9% in sales, while the forecasted CAGR from 2019 until 2024F is 11.5% in units and 7.2% in sales. Existing DRAM fabrication facilities are being converted into CIS manufacturing plants to cope with the increasing demand for CMOS image sensors [1]. Despite a small 4% drop in revenue, and nearly flat unit growth due to the disruptions caused by COVID-19 in 2020, in 2024F the CIS sector expects a record high of $26.1B and 11B units/year [2]. A simple calculation shows that over the course of 2020 (6.3B units, $18.2B), globally 200 image sensors are being produced every second at an average price of $2.9. Realizing this scale of production by the end of 2020 will require a total of 5.4M wafers (300mm diameter), which is equivalent to a silicon area of 76 soccer fields!
