TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), a non-profit government-funded research institute in Republic of Korea, announced today an on-going collaboration on an R&D support program which has led to successful development of a CMOS image sensor which is ready for the commercial market.
Since 2009, TowerJazz has partnered with KERI through diverse programs to provide pixel IP, special R&D assistance and other support. Due to these activities, along with KERI’s superior design ability and ceaseless efforts, development of products such as X-ray detectors for medical imaging (dental CT, C-ARM, and mammography) has been successful and performance has reached the commercialization level.
The global X-ray equipment market for medical, dental and veterinary applications reached the $10 billion mark in 2012 and should increase by 18 percent to $12 billion by 2017, according to IMS Research. KERI already has agreements with various commercial companies for technology transfer and detailed plans are under discussion now. KERI expects mass production to begin in 2015 for this CMOS image sensor and expected sales revenue could easily reach over $10 million per year once ramp up occurs.
“With the great support of TowerJazz, our image sensor is ready to be commercialized. Since the beginning, TowerJazz has been supporting and encouraging us throughout the development process by providing specialized technical service and prompt response from on-site experts with diverse experience. We will maintain our strong relationship while starting production in the coming year for this product and we look forward to future cooperation at TowerJazz’s 12” fab in Japan through TowerJazz Panasonic Semiconductor Co.,” said Dr. Sung Chae Jeon, Principal Research Engineer, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute.
“We are very pleased with the successful development of KERI’s commercialized CMOS image sensor. KERI’s excellent technical ability and continual collaboration with our engineering team helped achieve their goal of commercialization. We will continue to support our customers and partners by looking into their long-term roadmaps and milestones to ensure full alignment and achieve mutual success,” said Michael Song, Vice President of Sales and President of TowerJazz Korea.
Collaboration between TowerJazz and KERI will continue further with an opportunity for next-generation products to be manufactured at TowerJazz Panasonic Semiconductor Co.’s (TPSCo’s) 12” fab in Japan.
Source: http://www.towerjazz.com/