Apple to Diversify CIS Suppliers with Introduction of Samsung

TapTechNews July 3rd news, TheElec reported that although Apple previously relied entirely on Sony in CIS (CMOS image sensor), due to capacity reasons, Apple has been preparing to introduce Samsung Electronics as the second supplier, and is currently conducting the final quality test on the CIS of Samsung's System LSI department (which will be used for the main camera of the next-generation iPhone).

Looking back at previous models, iPhones usually use Sony's CIS, but there have been some problems in the cooperation between the two parties since last year.

A source mentioned that since Sony failed to supply CIS in a timely manner at the end of last year, it was difficult for Apple to determine the release date of iPhone 15. Therefore, Apple applied to Samsung Electronics last year to conduct the research and development of such CIS in order to diversify the supply chain.

If Samsung passes the quality test (which he thinks is highly possible), this will represent that Samsung will supply CIS to the iPhone for the first time, and also break Sony's monopoly in the iPhone CIS field.

Industry insiders said: This project is entirely to meet Apple's needs, so if Samsung can pass the test, then the supply will no longer be a problem, Sony will still be the largest supplier, but Samsung is expected to expand its share.

TheElec also mentioned that the new CIS on Apple's iPhone 16 will adopt Samsung's three-layer wafer stacking technology,叠加 three different wafers together, among which include - the logical part of the photodiode, the transistor and the analog-to-digital converter; and before that, the double-layer stacking technology, that is, the photodiode and the transistor layer.

The three-layer wafer stacking design allows for electrical interconnection between different wafer layers. Compared with the traditional double-layer stacking, the three-dimensional integration technology at the wafer level can simultaneously improve the transmission speed, reduce the delay, and bring higher performance and lower power consumption.

TapTechNews briefly introduces here that a photodiode and four transistors are required in the CIS, and the photodiode is responsible for converting the optical signal into an electrical signal, while the four transistors are responsible for transmitting, amplifying, reading and erasing these electrical signals.

Among the leaders including Apple, it is believed that the photodiode and the transistor must be separated, so they separate the wafers and process them separately, and use two hybrid stacking methods to connect the three logic wafers. In this way, Apple can significantly reduce noise by reducing interference while achieving a higher pixel density (reducing the pixel size).

Because this stacking technology does not require signal transmission bumps, but is directly connected through copper pads. This makes the CIS smaller and improves the data transmission speed between devices. However , the problem is that this technology requires very high precision, so in the short term, maybe only the world's only two CIS giants (Sony and Samsung) can provide this technology for Apple.