Himax Technologies has expressed optimism about the growth prospects for its non-driver IC business, most notably with its structure light integrated solution for 3D sensing and wafer-level optics (WLO)

Himax' 3D sensing solutions consist of several critical in-house technologies including advanced optics utilizing its WLO technology, laser driver IC, high precision active alignment for the projector assembly, high-performance near-infrared CMOS image sensor and an ASIC chip for 3D depth map generation. "We are in close collaboration with select leading smartphone makers and partners, aiming to bring our total solution to mass production as early as 2018 to meet our top-tier customers' aggressive launch timetables," said Himax president and CEO Jordan Wu in a statement.

Himax' 3D sensing total solution represents "a very high entry barrier for potential competition and much higher ASP" for the company, Wu continued. The product line will contribute "greatly" to Himax' revenues and profits by the time when shipments kick off, Wu added.

Himax believes that 3D sensing will be a "game changing technology" for a wide range of applications. Currently, the company's 3D sensing solution is targeted at smartphone applications. The company is looking to extend its target applications to AR/VR, industrial, IoT, AI, automotive, robotics, military, surveillance and drones.

In addition, Himax disclosed its capex spending for 2017 will be mainly focused on the establishment of additional production capacity for WLO. "A major ramp of the new WLO capacity has already started at the beginning of the third quarter of 2017, and will accelerate throughout the remainder of 2017 and beyond," the company indicated.

Advanced WLO is one of the key technologies enabling 3D sensing, AR devices and many other applications. Himax claimed that the company is able to produce the world's most compact optics required of 3D sensing while achieving superior performance. In addition to 3D sensing, Himax has ongoing collaborations with customers in developing light-guide for AR glasses and micro displays using its WLO technology.

Himax previously disclosed the phase one of its capacity expansion with a capex of US$80 million to fulfill strong demand for 3D sensing over the next 2-3 years. The company is planning the phase two of its expansion with new capacity set to be located at a new building near its headquarters in Tainan, southern Taiwan. The new building will house additional 8-inch glass WLO capacity and provide extra office space. Construction of the facility is scheduled to complete and be ready for personnel and equipment move-in by the end of 2017 or early 2018, according to the company.

In related news, Himax expects to post 23-30% sequential revenue growth in the third quarter of 2017, with gross margin up about 1pp on quarter. Sales of the company's non-driver business are forecast to surge 90% sequentially in the third quarter, while sales of its large-size panel driver ICs and those of small- and medium-size ones will increase about 10% and 20%, respectively.

"Despite the decline in the first half in our business, we expect a strong recovery in driver ICs segment and exciting opportunities in the non-driver segments over the remainder of 2017 and beyond," Wu noted.