Following two earthquakes in the Kumamoto region on April 14 and 16, 2016, the production of semiconductors at several plants in the “Silicon Island” region has been disrupted. Production of Sony’s image sensors is also affected.
The series of earthquakes afflicting the Kumamoto region in mid-April claimed lives and destroyed many buildings. At the same time, local companies must also contend with the consequences. SVS-Vistek maintains close links with all partners in Japan and our thoughts go out to all people who have sustained loss or casualties as a result of this natural disaster.
Kumamoto is the site of the production center for Sony’s latest CMOS sensors, which are used in both the consumer market and in industrial applications. The earthquake has disrupted the production of all relevant IMX CMOS sensors required for machine vision. Sony is currently analyzing the extent of the damage in order to draw up a restructuring plan as quickly as possible.
The information gained from the network of sensor distributors as well as our own Japanese contacts does not yet permit any precise forecast on when production can be resumed. However, it is likely to take a few months before the necessary volumes can be produced and are available again in the supply chain.
SVS-Vistek has installed the IMX sensors available to date in the current EXO series and will also be sticking to the road map for the new 9 and 12 M to 1.1”, thus completing its series of IMX sensors.
Production of Sony CCD sensors continuing
However, the production of Sony CCD sensors is not affected by this. Ahead of the change of strategy in favor of CMOS technology, Sony has launched the latest “state-of-the-art” CCD series of 3, 6, 9 and 12 MP up to an image size of 1”. There are no restrictions on the availability of CCD-based cameras such as the ECO2 series with an GigE interface. The ICX CCD sensors used in the EXO series can be operated in a 4-tap mode and achieve the maximum imaging rates via the UBS 3 of CameraLink interface.
Please feel free to contact our sales staff for more information or for details on alternative products. We will be happy to offer you a solution that meets your needs with minimum delay.
We hope that the situation in the region will stabilize again and wish our customers, suppliers and partners all the necessary energy and endurance.