Sony to boost image sensor capacity again

Sony Corp. will boost its image sensor production capacity by 50 percent within two to three years starting next spring, the company said on Monday. The electronics giant had already planned to boost capacity of the chips used in digital cameras and smartphones to 50,000 a month by the end of March 2012. The new plan will mean a further hike to 75,000 a month, measured in 300 mm wafer equivalents, by March 2014 or March 2015, a Sony spokeswoman said. The total includes both CCD and CMOS sensors. As well as boosting capacity at its Nagasaki Technology Centre in southern Japan, Sony will use foundries to raise production without a further major increase in investment. Click here for full story