Sony has announced that it intends to invest more money into Sony Semiconductor Corporations Nagasaki Technology Center in the first half of its fiscal year ending March 31, 2013. The investment will continue through the first half of its fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. The goal of the investment in the facility is to increase the production capacity for stacked CMOS image sensors.
Sony's investment will be used to provide new wafer processing equipment and transform wafer lines capable of manufacturing the sensors. Sony plans to increase the total production capacity for imaging sensors at the facility to 60,000 wafers per month by the end of September 2013.
Sony's investment makes sense with an ever-increasing demand for imaging sensors for use in smartphones and tablets as well as other electronic devices. Sony says that stacked CMOS imaging sensors provide greater performance and a smaller package. That smaller package is ideal for portable devices.
Sony also intends to use some of the increase production capacity for its own products. The company plans to integrate its stacked CMOS image sensors into a wide range of products from its digital imaging and mobile businesses. Sony will invest approximately ¥80 billion into the project with the first investment during fiscal year 2013 being ¥45 billion in the remainder coming later.
