Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor shipments surpassed Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) in 2004, according to a report released today by market research firm In-Stat. The shift was mainly due to the success of camera phones, where CMOS is the dominating digital camera sensor technology.

While CMOS has surpassed CCDs, CCDs are not going away, In-Stat says. CCDs remain a major factor in applications especially where space and pricing pressure is less apparent than in cellphones. In-Stat believes that CCDs will maintain their presence especially mainstream digital still cameras, security cameras, and camcorders.

Even with its increasing market share, CMOS revenues will be less than CCD revenues through 2005 due to high volumes and higher prices of CCDs, the market research firm said.