13 March 2015

Laser market growing at 5.5% to over $12bn by 2019

The total laser market will grow at a rate of 5.5% from 2013 through to 2019, bolstered by a double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in display and lightshow laser revenue, according to market research firm Strategies Unlimited's annual report 'The Worldwide Market for Lasers.

The laser market in 2014 was relatively strong, given that the global economic climate is still slowly recovering from a strong recession in some regions of the world. Still, not only did some of the smaller sectors experience strong growth, which is true in most years, but most encouraging was very strong growth in the larger sectors. The communications and high-power industrial segments, both with over $1bn in annual revenue, grew by 7% or more in 2014.

"With many promising technology and application trends, 2014 was a fantastic year for laser revenue growth," says senior analyst Allen Nogee. "Besides displays, many segments - including sensors, medical, photolithography, and large materials processing - had growth rates above average," he adds.  

New to the annual report this year is increased coverage of fiber lasers and quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). In the forecast period to 2019, Strategies Unlimited anticipates that high-power diodes as well as fiber lasers will be the fastest-growing laser types in terms of revenue. "This isn't surprising, seeing as they both are reliable, have a long life, their prices are dropping, and they are very energy efficient," comments Nogee. "Fiber and direct-diode lasers are both important in the industrial area and are replacing other laser types," he adds. "Fiber lasers are slowly replacing CO2 lasers, and high-power diode lasers are replacing many other types of lasers, including solid-state lasers used in laser lightshows."

Tags: Laser diodes

Visit: www.strategies-u.com