Samsung Updates on Image Sensor Business, Names RB-W Sensors BRITECELL

Samsung Investors Forum held on Nov. 16, 2015 gives interesting details on its image sensor business from Kyushik Hong, VP of Marketing, Samsung System LSI:

"But for some other product like image sensor, we have a number one market share in China market, for example. So, we sell a lot of our image sensor in all the Chinese OEMs."

Q: [ph] Jason (58:35) from [indiscernible] (58:34). "Can you please comment on [indiscernible] (58:38) how your image sensor technology compares to one of your Japanese competitors, and for the image sensor, besides mobile, what areas are you focusing on and how do you see your business penetrating into the mobile side?"

A: "Okay. So, I think for image sensor technology innovation. It has to come from, I mean – in large probably has to come from the process technology. So, having you around fab and you around process – I mean, the pixel process technology this is very important. So, I think that's not some fables, the base, the image sensor company can do. But particular company that you mentioned, a Japanese company, they also have their own process technology to develop the pixel quality. So, in that sense, I think we are pretty much on par.

But the one we have in addition to that is we also have very advanced logic technology as well. And probably you know that all the advanced image sensor is now all this [ph] packed (59:56) sensor. So, meaning that [indiscernible] (59:58) part of the sensor is surely the pixel and you put all this kind of logics that can handle all the immediate processing, stuff like that, into the separate dedicated logic chip and you just stack them together and these are too part of the sensor can work in perfect harmony as well.

So, Samsung, I think, one of the advantage we do have is that we do have both pixel [ph] in-house (01:00:27) pixel technology, as well as advanced logic technology as well. So that we can stack them together by taking advantage of the synergy between this technology.

And I think the second question is about the application outside the mobile, right? So, that's definitely another very exciting subject. Today's subject is about mobile, so I'm pretty much focused on mobile application. But we do have – we do see a lot of opportunity in other applications as well. And automotive is one clear example and, again, combining some of the processing power that we can provide.

So, for example, like automotive, like – there could be like 16 images sensors that has to be working at the same time, and you can't – you have to handle all of this kind of – the video images at the same time for very sophisticated [indiscernible] (01:01:33) type of automotive application. So, definitely automotive is one area. And there could be a lot of even consumer electronics area. Like in this case, even this robot [indiscernible] (01:01:49) they have some imaging sensors inside. So, we're constantly looking at some other opportunity. And we believe all the technology that we built upon the mobile device will greatly help to – for us to expand our area outside the mobile."