Global VCSELs Markets Moving Fast in All Application Segments

April 07, 2016

Wellesley, Mass., April 07, 2016 – The use of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) has increased greatly in the optical communications industry in the past 15 years. BCC Research reveals in its new report that the global market should grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 20% as demand increases for VCSELs in consumer electronics products and other high-end applications.

VCSELs, previously called edge-emitting diodes, are specialized laser diodes that emit infrared or coherent energy parallel to the surface between semiconductor lasers.

Global market revenues should grow from $781.6 million in 2015 to $2.1 billion in 2020, reflecting a five-year CAGR of 21.9%. Optical fiber data transmission, the largest segment, reached $246.7 million in 2015 and should total $618.2 million in 2020, demonstrating a five-year CAGR of 20.2%. Analog broadband signal transmission totaled $93.7 million in 2015 and should reach $295.3 million in 2020, with a CAGR of 25.8%.

Extensive R&D by companies and defense services worldwide in VCSELs has produced high-power conversion efficiency of 63.4% in the current year (other types of commercially available lasers have typical power conversion of 20% to 25%). In short-range communication networks such as storage area networks and local area networks, VCSELs are expected as the key lighting source in the future. With the developments of long-wavelength VCSELs, higher bandwidth, lower cost, wavelength tunability and low drive currents, VCSELs are the future for widespread on-site and customer premises deployment for passive optical access networks.

VCSELs should play an important role in gesture recognition and 3-D sensing technology in consumer electronics goods. The continuous demand for gesture recognition technology in portable electronic devices is expected to lead to higher deployment of VCSELs in electronic devices. Greater precision in VCSELs is another key market driver that has led to their increased adoption in medical applications such as medical diagnostics and therapeutics, optical nerve stimulation and computed radiography imaging. Superior power efficiency over LEDs has expanded the adoption of VCSELs in proximity-sensing applications, as well. 

For many high-volume applications, VCSELs have become an attractive technology.  “VCSELs have been widely adopted in the data communications industry,” says BCC Research analyst Sinha Gaurav. “The growth is attributed to increased demand for VCSELs with low-energy optical storage and fast switching in servers and high-capacity data centers. Additionally, the growing demand for VCSELs in ultrahigh density magnetic storage and industrial heating, including paint curing and commercial print shops, are further expected to contribute to the growth of the market.”

Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSEL): Technologies and Global Markets (PHO011B) analyzes the industry by technology, by type, and by end-user application. The report also examines emerging applications, trends, pricing considerations, R&D, and competitive technologies. Analyses of global market drivers and trends, with data from 2014, 2015, and projections of CAGRs through 2020 also are provided.

Editors and reporters who wish to speak with the analyst should contact Steven Cumming at steven.cumming@bccresearch.com.

Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs): Technologies and Global Markets( PHO011B )
Publish Date: Mar 2016    

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