Imaging and Sensing Devices for Future Automotive World

Business motivation is essential for the evolution of semiconductor devices. The larger the market, the faster the technology will evolve. In 2007, the first iPhone, or smartphone, was born, and in 2009, the back-illuminated image sensor, which was a technological epoch-making event for CMOS image sensors, appeared. With technical breakthroughs and business motivations coming together almost simultaneously, CMOS image sensors have undergone dramatic technological evolution over the past decade or so, impacting the lifestyles of people around the world. It is no exaggeration to say that it has changed the world. In recent years, it has been promoting fusion with AI as edge computing, and its applications are expanding not only in imaging but also in sensing. From an application perspective, imaging and sensing technologies that have evolved with smartphones as business drivers are now merging with automotives, opening up a new world. While overlooking the evolution of CMOS image sensors over the past ten years, we will discuss the possibility of future evolution of imaging and sensing technologies in the automotive field.