Optoelectronics market to hit $31.2B by 2013

That represents 9.3 percent growth but DataBeans puts the CAGR at 12 percent for the period 2008 to 2013 at 12 percent by which time the market would be $31.2 billion.

High-volume applications of optoelectronics include DVD systems and digital cameras. Alongside these are cars, medical instruments and lamps.

In the automotive market, LEDs are being used extensively in interior lighting, and due to advances in technology, uses in exterior illumination is becoming mainstream. Image sensors, found mainly in mobile phones and digital cameras, are also making their way into vehicles, adding additional safety features such as lane departure warning and rear view/blind spot assistance.

In medical electronics, a fast growing segment of the industrial market, optoelectronics are being used in oncology, endoscopy, and imaging. A quickly advancing market for medical lasers is in cosmetic surgery and dermatology, where optoelectronics are key components.

Furthermore, LED lamps are set to grow in many markets. While demand for LEDs in backlighting will continue to be strong, applications that use LEDs as replacements for more traditional lighting sources offer a chance for significant growth, as manufacturers continue to advance performance of white LEDs.

Databeans predicts that global optoelectronics revenue for lighting and other consumer applications will grow at a CAGR of 14 percent over the next five years. This performance is followed by the medical market with a predicted growth rate of 13 percent and automotive with a growth rate of 12 percent. The communications segment continues to drive overall growth, with continued demand for image sensors in the mobile handset application.

- Peter Clarke
EE Times Europe