OmniVision Technologies is eyeing entry into the supply chain of India-based Tata Motors with its automotive CMOS image sensors (CIS), according to industry sources.
Demand for mobile phone CIS is expected to drop significantly in 2022. As such, major mobile CIS makers Sony, OmniVision, and Samsung Electronics are actively deploying in the automotive CIS market.
IDM Onsemi leads the way when it comes to automotive-grade CIS sales value; however, OmniVision has seized market share in terms of sales volume, the sources said.
Sources say OmniVision has identified China and India as the markets with the most growth potential for electric vehicles (EV) and future cars. There is a good opportunity for various automotive-grade image chips in these markets, especially in India where high-standard and affordable components are needed, sources added.
OmniVision has its eye on India-based Tata Motors, with which it is currently in talks, the sources said. Tata Technologies, a subsidiary of Tata Group, recently announced it joined the Foxconn-initiated MIH EV development platform.
Powerchip Technology chairman Frank Huang is also looking into the potential of the Indian market, sources said. Powerchip has not responded to investment rumors in India.
OmniVision works closely with Taiwan-based semiconductor supply chains, including wafer foundries TSMC and Powerchip, and for backend packaging and testing, it works with Xintec, VisEra Technologies, and Tong Hsing Electronic (THEI), the sources noted.
In regard to OmniVision’s mid-to-long-term strategy for automotive chip development, in addition to automotive CIS, it will also focus on mature liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) chips for automotive applications, the sources said.
According to sources, OmniVision already works with several Tier-1 European and American automotive supply chains and Chinese companies. In terms of its future automotive chip layout, OmniVision reportedly has three major strategies.
The first is to continue competing with Onsemi and Sony in automotive CIS. In the future, OmniVision aims to hold 30-40% of the automotive CIS market share. It will work closely with Taiwanese wafer foundries and outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) vendors on products such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Second, some Tier-1 auto companies and module makers have started discussing with packaging and testing firms like THEI the use of wafer reconstruction (RW) technology in place of ball grid array (BGA) packaging for basic-level CIS components in rear view cameras; the RW manufacturing process is mainly used in the latter stages of mobile phone CIS. OmniVision has recently received several requests for quotes from customers, according to sources.
The third is to use LCoS chips to attack the head-up display (HUD) field. For this, OmniVision can use its own in-house packaging plant to carry out backend manufacturing to raise the reliability and durability of its automotive-grade LCoS chips. Sources said OmniVision aims to release automotive LCoS-related sample chips at the end of 2022.
