onsemi Enhances Intelligent Sensing Portfolio with Acquisition of SWIR Vision Systems
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of onsemi’s continuous drive to provide the most robust, cutting-edge technologies for intelligent image sensing, the company announced today it has completed the acquisition of SWIR Vision Systems®. SWIR Vision Systems is a leading provider of CQD® (colloidal quantum-dot-based) short wavelength infrared (SWIR) technology – a technology that extends the detectable light spectrum to see through objects and capture images that were not previously possible. The integration of this patented technology within onsemi’s industry-leading CMOS sensors will significantly enhance the company’s intelligent sensing product portfolio and pave the way for further growth in key markets including industrial, automotive and defense.
CQD uses nanoparticles or crystals with unique optical and electronic properties that can be precisely tuned to absorb an extended wavelength of light. This technology extends the visibility and detection of systems beyond the range of standard CMOS sensors to SWIR wavelengths. To date, SWIR technology has been limited in adoption due to the high cost and manufacturing complexity of the traditional indium gallium arsenide (InGAas) process. With this acquisition, onsemi will combine its silicon-based CMOS sensors and manufacturing expertise with the CQD technology to deliver highly integrated SWIR sensors at lower cost and higher volume. The result are more compact, cost-effective imaging systems that offer extended spectrum and can be used in a wide array of commercial, industrial and defense applications.
These advanced SWIR sensors are able to see through dense materials, gases, fabrics and plastics, which is essential across many industries, particularly for industrial applications such as surveillance systems, silicon inspection, machine vision imaging and food inspection. In autonomous vehicle imaging, the higher spectra will create better visibility to see through difficult conditions such as extreme darkness, thick fog or winter glare.
SWIR Vision Systems is now a wholly owned subsidiary of onsemi, with its highly skilled team being integrated into the company’s Intelligent Sensing Group. The team will continue to operate in North Carolina. The acquisition is not expected to have any meaningful impact on onsemi’s near to midterm financial outlook.
does anyone knows the transaction amount ?
ReplyDeleteI heard $235M
Delete1000M$
ReplyDeleteRidiculous - no way anyone paid a billion...
ReplyDeleteI guess it is a logical strategy for them to have HDR sensors and low-cost SWIR sensors if they want to grow on automotive market. It will be interesting to see which company will catch this huge market with SWIR sensors and with which technology (QDs, III-V, germanium ), but also to see if swir sensors can be used on consumer electronics market (and if costs of III-V materials is not a killer issue compared to QDs)
ReplyDeleteDoes it mean the end of SWIR cameras ?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone actually used one of their SWIR cameras? I've tried the IMX990 but based on sensitivity went away from the CQD
ReplyDeleteIMX990 is InGaAs based from Sony. Unrelated to IMX990 which is InGaAs from Sony. Something is unclear about this last question (grammar on content).
DeleteI guess they have a hen-egg problem in terms of scaling. I dont know how much of the 'potential to produce at cmos cost' they can materialize if they dont have the numbers to divide the cost for the development of the device. And if the cost is high the numbers will not come. would be interesting to know how much cheaper their 6mp device is compared to a imx992 ingaas for example, dont know the price of neither ;-) but i guess the cqd will not be a x10 cheaper simply because the scaling effect is not yet there, isnt it? if the device just has "the potential to be produced at lower cost" but is actually at the same cost then well... its actually not lower cost
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