The electronic camera function is becoming the most important sign of differentiation for the flagship smart phones, and even the trend of the limelight has exceeded the mobile phone main chip platform. The mainstream flagship smart phones have adopted 13M-like, 5P, even 6P lens footage, and even the latest technology such as closed-loop motor autofocus and optical image stabilization. By the end of this year, there may be manufacturers launching 16M-pixel mobile phones, and Chinese manufacturers can already supply these high-end camera modules. The Chinese camera module industry has entered the world's top echelon.
However, in recent years, with the huge demand of the market, the camera module industry has also rapidly expanded, with hundreds of manufacturers and dozens of companies on the scale. Will the market in the future be able to accommodate so many manufacturers? If these manufacturers do not catch up with the technological upgrading and scale effect in the future, they will probably be eliminated soon. Let us first look at the major technical difficulties of 13M, and the upcoming 16/20M camera module.
The main technical difficulty of 16/20M camera module
The technical leader of Sunny Optical, a leading camera module manufacturer in China, stated that the main difficulties include the following:
* Increased difficulty in the production of components: As the aperture becomes larger, the production yield of the lens is difficult to increase. For example, with the FNO 1.8 lens, the most powerful manufacturers now have a 20% yield. At the same time, the pixels are increased to 16M or even 20M. The 5P lens will be difficult to meet the resolution requirements. This requires 6P and above lenses. The increase in the number of shots is definitely a challenge for the lens factory assembly.
* Increased difficulty in integration of supply chain resources: Component technology is difficult, so there are few resource manufacturers that can produce high-pixel components. Who can integrate resources and who will dominate the market?
* Module assembly is more difficult: the higher the pixel, the higher the uniformity and consistency requirements of the resolution, and the requirements for the production line, especially the control of the title during the module production process. The key to good or bad group performance.
"In summary, I believe that the follow-up should be firmly established in the module industry and gain development. It is not the question of who has more money to invest in the COB production line. This is the first five years, and now it is to see which module. The factory's packaging capabilities, assembly testing capabilities, who can develop better in this industry." He believes.
The other head of China's major camera module manufacturer, Truly, explained the challenges facing the camera module industry in the future.
He explained that if it is only a simple pixel boost, the technical threshold is mainly process improvement and quality control, including stain control, optical centering, tilt control, consistency correction of image color and function, and image quality uniformity control. . However, if it is a closed-loop motor autofocus or optical anti-shake product, the entire manufacturing process of the camera module needs to be upgraded and modified almost, and the precision of the production line, the cleanliness of the production plant and the design precision requirements will be more strict. In general, the higher the pixel is, the more difficult it is to manufacture the camera module. At present, a few camera module factories in China have experience in mass production of 113M, and the transition from 8M to 13M may be more to strengthen production management. However, at present, 13M or more products have a large proportion of requirements with the closed-loop motor autofocus products and optical image stabilization products. The introduction and digestion of new technologies and new technologies are the biggest challenges. "At present, Truly has successfully mass-produced closed-loop motor autofocus products and optical image stabilization products, which are among the leading companies in China." He is proud to say.
In addition to the challenges of these new technologies, camera module manufacturers also face another new topic: tracking and research and development of some revolutionary innovative camera technologies.
Business prospects for revolutionary technologies such as array cameras
This year, some innovative and revolutionary camera technologies have been pushed to the public, such as array cameras, MEMS cameras, OIS and light field cameras. Some domestic module manufacturers are also tracking or developing this technology. What everyone is worried about is these emerging Will the camera technology replace the traditional camera technology? When will it be replaced?
In this regard, the technical director of Polytechnica conducted an analysis of several current revolutionary camera technologies. He pointed out that the array camera is still in the stage of industrial integration. To be finally commercialized, it is estimated that there is still some way to go. It will be very good to be able to get up in the second half of next year; MEMS cameras are a good thing, and they are superior in size and power consumption. In the current VCM program. However, the problem of this solution is the single supply chain, which is unfavorable for the development of the industry. The specifics can be compared with the figure below. The light field camera is similar to the array camera, but personally think that the application on the mobile phone is unlikely. OIS optical image stabilization technology will be a mainstream technology next year and should become the preferred configuration solution for the flagship of the first and second line customers. At the same time, he specifically mentioned that some 3D camera/optical zoom schemes are under study and may appear on the market next year, but not in the mainstream.