Product category: Optoelectronic Sensors, Switches and Receivers
News Release from: Cypress Semiconductor
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 24 June 2004
Cypress to acquire
Belgian image sensor specialist
Cypress Semiconductor has signed a definitive agreement to acquire FillFactory, a Belgium-based leader in active pixel CMOS image sensor technology
Cypress Semiconductor has signed a definitive agreement toacquire FillFactory, a Belgium-based leader in active pixel CMOSimage sensor technology. FillFactory offers a variety ofhigh-performance custom and standard products for some of theindustry's most advanced digital photography, high-speedimaging, machine vision and automotive applications.FillFactory's products, which are based on a proprietarypixel architecture, include a 13.85Mpixel sensor for Kodak'snew DCS line of professional digital cameras; a 100 x 135mmsensor for mammography applications that takes up an entire 8inwafer and is one of the world's largest sensors;radiation-tolerant sensors for aerospace applications such asstar trackers and sun sensors; and active-pixel sensors thatcombine a true snapshot synchronous shutter with very highreadout rates for use in high-speed scientific image analysis.Under the terms of the acquisition, Cypress agreed to pay $100million in cash for FillFactory.
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 24 June 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The transaction, which istargeted to close in the 2004 third quarter, is expected to beaccretive to Cypress's pro-forma earnings.
Cypress expectsthe acquisition to be accretive in 2004, excluding the cost ofacquisition-related intangibles.
FillFactory posted sales of $6.0million and profit before tax of $1.3 million in the quarterended 31st March 2004.
The demand for CMOS image sensors,essentially cameras on a chip made with standard CMOS processtechnology, is growing rapidly, driven by a swift expansion ofthe market for digital still cameras (DSCs) and cellphonecameras.
According to a Q204 report by the El Segundo-basedsemiconductor research firm iSuppli, the 78-million-unit marketfor CMOS sensors in 2003 is projected to expand at an annual rateof more than 40% to 2008.
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'The market for image sensors isexploding and FillFactory's products are among thehighest-performance in the business', said Tony Alvarez,Executive Vice President of Cypress's Memory ProductsDivision, which will add FillFactory as a product line when theacquisition is complete.
'FillFactory image sensors willenable us to effectively double our sales into the cellphonemarket, where we are already a leading supplier of low-powermemories', Alvarez added.
'They will expand our marketin DSCs, where we currently sell a broad array of timingsolutions'.
'They will augment our growing automotivebusiness, where we sell configurable microcontrollers andmemories, and they will also enable us to penetrate new customersand markets, including those in Japan and the Asia-Pacific'.'The CMOS manufacturing process used to make image sensorsis highly similar to that used to manufacture memories',Alvarez said.
'That also makes FillFactory a great fit withCypress's core manufacturing capabilities'.'Cypress's low-cost, high-volume CMOS manufacturingcapabilities and extensive worldwide sales and marketing channelswill enable us to quickly expand our business in new areas and tostrengthen our ability to meet our existing customers'needs', said Luc De Mey, FillFactory cofounder, Presidentand Chief Executive Officer.
'We are pleased to join acompany that will accelerate our growth in the future'.'As a spin-off of IMEC, Europe's leading independentresearch centre for the development of state-of-the artmicroelectronic technologies, FillFactory provides us with anexperienced, first-rate development team in a highly technical,fast-growing market', said TJ Rodgers, Cypress President andCEO.
'Longer-term, we aim to combine FillFactoryintellectual property with existing Cypress IP, such as theoptical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) andimage-processing capabilities of our Silicon Light Machinessubsidiary, to lay the groundwork for new, integrated,value-added solutions'.
FillFactory focuses onhigh-performance image sensors characterised by: large numbers ofpixels, as in the Kodak digital camera application; large areas,as in its mammography sensor; high frame rates, which make iteasier to capture images in motion; and high dynamic range,improving their ability to distinguish dark objects against lightbackgrounds.
Its proprietary pixel architecture has a high'fill factor', meaning that the entire area of a pixelis photosensitive, even with the three or four transistors thatare required to reset and sense an image.
As a result,FillFactory products have no need for the microlenses required bycompeting products.
High fill factors translate into smaller CMOSsensor chips and/or sensor chips with better resolution withoutmaking concessions to sensitivity.
FillFactory's 13.85MpixelCMOS image sensor with a 24 x 36mm light-sensitive area iscurrently shipping into Kodak's new DCS Pro SLR/n and DCSPro SLR/c 35mm professional digital cameras.
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