Himax Said to be Supplying Apple With Glass for 3D Sensors for iPhone 8

[Maura]

According to a new report from DigiTimes, via AppleInsider, Taiwan’s Himax Technologies has been enlisted by Apple to supply glass for 3D-sensing modules for the iPhone 8 that are being constructed by Lumentum, therefore indicating that the iPhone 8 will indeed have some sort of 3D-sensing feature, as has been recently rumoured. The feature could be used possibly for some sort of facial recognition system, or for virtual reality and augmented reality features.

The module that is being manufactured by Lumentum uses vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)-based diffractive optical elements (DOE) for the camera. DigiTimes’s sources say that the module is manufactured using a chip-on-glass (COG) method, with Himax supplying the glass.

This new report today supports a rumour from Morgan Stanley analyst Charlie Chan, who wrote in a note to Barron’s earlier in the week that predicted that Himax was about to become part of the 3D-sensing component supply chain. Chan said that Himax’s wafer level optics (WLO) technology can help to make 3D sensing modules smaller and therefore easier to fit inside smartphones.
Image: Himax
Source: Himax reportedly joining 3D sensor supply chain for 'iPhone 8'