Leveraging its many years of experience in image sensor fabrication,
Tower Semiconductor has said that it is ramping production of Canesta's
3D image sensors initially for automotive applications. Tower is using
a hybrid 200mm wafer 180nm CMOS process at Fab2.
"We are very pleased to see the fruits of our mutual investment in the
past few years coming to reality", said Dr. Avi Strum, General Manager
of CMOS Image Sensor Product Line at Tower Semiconductor. "Canesta's
approach to 3D imaging is a breakthrough. Together, our market
opportunity is very large."
According
to a recent study by Strategy Analytics, applications such as this 3D
camera technology will boost the growth of the automotive semiconductor
market from $18 billion in 2006 to $29 billion by 2013 through an 8.2
percent yearly growth rate.