Camtek extends leadership in CMOS image sensor (CIS) narket

MIGDAL HA'EMEK, ISRAEL: Camtek Ltd has received an order for multiple wafer inspection systems from one of the world's largest manufacturers of CMOS Image Sensor (CIS). Camtek's back-end inspection equipment will be used throughout the manufacturing process and will significantly contribute to improving the customer's yield.

The order includes multiple Falcon systems for 2D inspection. The systems are expected to be installed during the first quarter of 2011.

"Camtek's inspection systems for CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) devices are highly recognized by CIS manufacturers. Our systems provide a Sub-resolution Detection feature and provide coverage of a wide range of CIS process defects, including Color Filter Array (CFA) process control, and thus enable the most reliable detection of critical defects in the image sensor array at a significantly higher throughput," commented Roy Porat, Camtek's CEO. "Camtek's high productivity and state-of-the-art technology are the source of our competitive edge in the fast growing and evolving CIS market."

The CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) arena is an important market for our back-end inspection business. We see it growing due to the increasing global demand of camera-embedded hand-held devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, as well as the growing use of cameras in the automotive industry.

Technology is also a factor in the increasing demand for our CIS inspection tools. As cameras trend to using CMOS Image Sensors with bigger arrays and higher resolutions, more inspection is needed. For example, cameras with 3 megapixels are sample inspected while cameras of 5 megapixels or greater, tend to be 100 percent inspected.

"We are very pleased with our positioning in this growing market and aim to grow further with it. We are expecting additional multiple orders from this strategic customer during 2011" added Porat.