Chasing Sony and Samsung Electronics
SK Hynix has started to mass-produce 0.7㎛ image sensors, getting into competition with Sony and Samsung Electronics in the global image sensor market.
The company has recently begun volume production of 0.7㎛ 50-million-pixel image sensors, which are at the same level as Sony products.
The size of an image sensor’s pixel determines the size of an entire camera module. If a pixel is small, the size of a lens protruding from the back of a smartphone can be reduced.
Samsung Electronics launched a 0.64㎛ 50-million-pixel image sensor, the industry's smallest one, in June 2021 and introduced a 0.64㎛ 200-million-pixel sensor in September of the same year. Recently, Omnivision of China also took the wraps off a 0.62㎛ pixel image sensor at CES 2022.
In the image sensor market, Sony is ranked first with a 40 percent market share, followed by Samsung with a 20 percent share.
SK Hynic is expected to supply its new product to Samsung Electronics. It could be used for the Galaxy A series smartphones, which are scheduled to be released in the second half of the year. Previously, SK Hynix supplied 1.0㎛ pixel-based 13-megapixel image sensors for Samsung's foldable smartphone Galaxy Z Flip 3.