Hynix to Unveil 0.7um Pixel by the End of 2021

Korea Economic Daily reports that SK Hynix is is developing a 0.7um 64MP image sensor for smartphones and plans to bring it to market by the end of 2021. Hynix also plans to unveil new image sensors for security cameras and biological applications.

“With a variety of products we’re considering, our company aims to raise our presence in the global image sensor market,” said an unnamed SK Hynix official.

SK Hynix’s image sensor market share rose to an estimated 3.2% in 2020 from 2.6% 2019. Its revenue from the image sensor business has increased by 33.6% to $582.2M from $435.8M in the same period.

SK Hynix is making image sensors at two of its semiconductor plants in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province – its M10 chip plant, where the company uses 12-inch wafers, and its foundry affiliate SK Hynix System IC Inc., which uses 8-inch wafers.

Due to a booming DRAM demand, it might be hard for Hynix to allocate enough capacity to imahe sensor production. “It may not be easy for us to switch our DRAM chip fabrication lines to boost production of image sensors. But we’ll make the right decision in accordance with the market situation,” said SK Hynix executive.