Sony Corporation of Japan continues to hold the largest share–and by a wide margin–of the imaging devices market for digital cameras, camcorders and similar products. The company has consistently driven technological evolution through advances such as tighter pixel pitch and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor functionality, remaining competitive.
But nothing is constant. Manufacturers in Korea and Taiwan, for example, are cutting into the CMOS sensor market with inexpensive product lines. Mobile telephones mounting cameras with Sony-manufacture imaging devices have become the minority in the global market.
The scenario that has played out so many times in the past, as in memory and displays, will not be repeated in imaging devices. Sony's Suzuki, involved in the imaging devices business for a long time, has made up his mind, and stands at the forefront of company efforts. The management of the camera manufacturers, his major clients, remains fiercely loyal. We spoke with Suzuki about his confidence in winning, and his strategies for the future.
Q: TSMC of Taiwan (which has joined forced with OmniVision Technologies, Inc. of the US), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. of Korea and others are gaining momentum in the imaging device market. In CMOS sensors for mobile phones in particular, they hold a massive advantage in volume share over Sony. What are your comments on this situation?
A: I do not want to lose out to the rivals you just mentioned. I feel we are the last bastion of the Japanese semiconductor industry. We are having considerable success at present, such as taking the lead in volume production of CMOS sensors using backside illumination, which attain excellent optical utilization efficiency.
If the competition in imaging devices were strictly based on volume and cost, our approach wouldn't succeed. We don't have the large-scale fabs that our rivals do, and we won't build them. Fortunately, we can compete in device quality, and we can continue to add functions that make our customers happy.
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