Sony is going to mass-produce a light receiving element called SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode). SPAD can produce avalanche effect on a single photon, so it has extremely high detection sensitivity and detection distance. At the same time, SPAD requires low reflection intensity, has excellent resolution, can be imaged in extremely weak light, and can reduce the cost through chip fabrication, so SPAD is the main development direction of laser radar detectors at present.
As early as last year, Sony released the first self-driving lidar sensor "IMX459". Sony disclosed a detailed timetable. Before mass production, Sony plans to start shipping "IMX459" at the end of 22 years. Sony said that although it was later than expected, the shipment plan has been confirmed.
Regarding SPAD, Shimizu said that Sony's goal is to provide SPAD, which is a key component of many automobile manufacturers and Tier 1 and dominates the lidar market from a "behind-the-scenes" perspective.
In a blink of an eye, SPAD has gradually entered the capital field of vision in recent years. At present, there have been many start-ups in the domestic SPAD field, such as parity electronics, Core Vision, Lingming Photonics, Core Bright Technology, Feixin Electronics, and Fushi Technology. It is worth noting that these start-ups have completed financing to varying degrees, including many well-known enterprises such as Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd., BYD and Huawei Hubble.