Japan’s biggest business daily, The Nikkei, is reporting that Sony plans to double its production volume for image sensors used in smartphones and digital cameras. Big S is currently thinking about buying back a semiconductor plant it sold to Toshiba in 2008.
The plant, which is located in Nagasaki, was originally used for producing the Cell processor that’s being used in the PS3 and other devices, until Toshiba started fabricating CMOS sensors there.
Sony is said to be ready to pay $600 million – a pretty large sum, but The Nikkei is saying that it takes double the amount to construct a new plant. The company is planning to fabricate around 40,000 silicon wafers monthly after acquiring the plant from Toshiba.
Last year, Sony was the sixth-largest producer of CMOS sensors world-wide.