Sony Corp. plans to purchase a Nagasaki Prefecture semiconductor plant from Toshiba Corp. for an estimated 50 billion yen to double output capacity for image sensors used in smartphones and other devices, The Nikkei learned Wednesday.
- Sony's CMOS sensor
This plant was initially owned by Sony and fabricated the Cell microprocessor for such products as the PlayStation 3 game console. Toshiba acquired the facility in 2008 to ramp up its chipmaking operations.
Toshiba modified lines at the plant so that it could churn out CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensors, which are widely used in digital cameras and mobile phones. Sony will now buy the facility back as a way of strengthening its CMOS sensor business.
Sony plans to take advantage of subsidies from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Buying an existing facility is much cheaper than constructing a new plant for some 100 billion yen and will also allow for production to be increased right away. The company may expand the plant's facilities after repurchasing it.
Sony was the sixth-largest manufacturer of CMOS chips last year in shipment volume terms. Plans call for increasing capacity at a Kumamoto Prefecture plant some 40% by the end of fiscal 2011. Acquiring the Nagasaki plant will double the firm's image sensor output capacity to the equivalent of about 40,000 silicon wafers a month.
In 2008, Sony developed a highly sensitive CMOS sensor that makes shooting clear photos in dark environments possible. In addition to using the chips in its own camcorders and other offerings, it has sold them to other companies. By boosting output of the chips and lowering production costs, it aims to catch up with such firms as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and U.S. players in the CMOS sensor market.
Toshiba will consolidate CMOS sensor production into its Oita Prefecture plant to improve efficiency and also plans to raise output.
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