Toshiba Image Sensor Strategy

Business Wire: In quite an unusual PR, Toshiba has published its image sensor business strategy and priorities:

Toshiba (TOKYO:6502) will focus on development and sales expansion of automotive and medical imaging sensor, in addition to sales expansion with Chinese smartphone manufacturers based on the BSI (backside illumination image sensor) technology and technologies that realize high sensitivity and speed. The current image sensor market is mainly for smart phones and digital cameras and has a scale of approximately 800 billion yen [1]. Future growth is expected on such factors as expansion to automotive applications and bringing higher performance levels to existing applications.

Smartphone sensors

The volume zones for image sensor used in the main cameras mounted on current smartphones are 8- to 13-million pixels. Toshiba supplies products mounting high-sensitivity image processing technology such as HDR[2] and Bright Mode[3]. We have already developed a 20-million pixels sensor for high-end market. We are meeting customer needs by developing more cost-competitive products.

Automotive sensors

Currently Toshiba sells sensor for view camera. We will use our original HDR to develop automotive image sensors, as demand for such products is expected to expand in the future. We will propose a system with TMPV75 Series, our automotive image recognition LSI, so as to expand sales to both domestic and overseas customers.

Medical sensors

We have formed an alliance with and invested in CapsoVision, Inc. (CV), maker of a capsule endoscope, as one aspect of promoting Toshiba’s healthcare business. We are now developing image sensor to mount in CV capsule endoscopes. We are also considering entering the market of sensors for catheters or endoscopes.

[1]: Toshiba survey.

[2]: HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a function that captures high contrast scenes naturally by widening the range of light and dark tones. Toshiba has developed HDR for video as well as still images in both high light and dark contrast settings. Our HDR synthesizing realizes smooth and vivid video recording by suppressing blurring and false colors.

[3]: Bright Mode is a technology to realize bright high speed movie recording. It can record movies that are up to 4 times brighter than those shot in normal mode. It can also record at frame rates as high as 240 frames a second in full HD equivalent by adopting an interlaced format. Toshiba provides high quality video technologies required for high speed video and for such features as smooth slow-motion playback, etc.

The new PR joins a series of similar ones on LSI strategy, discrete semiconductors strategy, and storage products strategy.