According to reports out of Taiwan, TSMC is expanding its OEM cooperation with Sony CIS (CMOS Image Sensor or simply CIS). An affiliate company of TSMC and members of the supply chain will take Sony’s “super big order” together. In response to Sony’s demand, some companies are already struggling to expand the capacity of CIS packaging and testing.
Gizchina News of the week
TSMC is actively planning to build a new high-end CIS packaging capacity in Zhunan. The relevant development plan will formally commence this month. In addition, the company hopes to complete the development by the middle of next year. Furthermore, TSMC’s expenditure could hit NT$300 billion (approx. $10 billion). This will become the largest production base for the advanced packaging of TSMC. This is the CIS packaging production line for Sony OEM.
TSMC dedicates its 14b fab for Sony’s sensor
There are reports that TSMC’s 14B fab production line is reserved for Sony’s high-end CIS. Well, it appears that 5G is not the only reason why the global demand for 5G is increasing. The market potential of autonomous driving is also boosting the global demand for CIS. The entire market is optimistic about the future application prospects of high-end CIS. In the expansion plan, Sony is not alone. Its competitors like Samsung and OmniVision are also actively expanding production capacity.
In December last year, TSMC had to take Sony’s CIS orders for the first time due to Sony’s insufficient production capacity.
According to reports, Sony is optimistic about the strong demand for image sensors in the 5G era. However, its production capacity is in short supply, and competitors such as Samsung and OmniVision are accelerating the expansion of production.
Over the past few years, Sony and TSMC have had a good cooperation. However, when it comes to CIS sensors, Sony’s strategy is internal. However, the Japanese manufacturer had to change this strategy for the first time because of the rapid improvement made by Sony.
