Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) Market worth $279 million in 2025

Tuesday 23 June 2020, Amsterdam

The report "Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis by Scanning Type (Area Scan and Line Scan), Technology (Cooled and Uncooled), Application (Security and Surveillance, Monitoring and Inspection, and Detection), Vertical (Industrial and Non-industrial), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", is projected to grow from USD 177 million in 2020 to USD 279 million in 2025, at a CAGR of 9.6%. The growth can be attributed to the rising demand for line-scan SWIR cameras for machine vision applications, increasing penetration of SWIR cameras in the military & defense vertical, and growing adoption of SWIR cameras in commercial applications.

Line-scan SWIR technology, by scanning type, is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period
Line-scan SWIR technology enables users to see beyond the visible spectrum; it also helps in scanning the object/body line by line, thereby helping in covering the whole area of the object, thus providing an accurate image of the object. Line-scan SWIR detectors are highly used in manufacturing to find out flaws and rectify them before delivery.

Security & surveillance, by application type, is expected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period
SWIR imagers are complimentary to thermal imagers when it comes to vision enhancement and low visibility in poor weather conditions. Imagery in the SWIR technology is similar to visible imagery, in that it senses reflected light; thus, interpretation and scene analysis is better than thermal systems. Thermal imagers have good detection abilities, and such imagers are a good complement to SWIR technology. While thermal imaging can detect the presence of a warm object against a cool background, a SWIR detector can actually identify what that object is (for instance, ships, vehicles, or personnel).

Uncooled SWIR, by technology, is expected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period
In the uncooled SWIR technology, the infrared-detecting elements are contained in a unit that functions at ambient temperature. The common type of thermal imaging devices—uncooled systems—operates quietly and can be activated immediately. The other advantages of uncooled SWIR technology are its long service life and low sensitivity to light exposure, as well as the use of vanadium oxide resistors.

North America, by region, is expected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period
One of the major reasons for North America’s domination of the market is the presence of several prominent military & defense, scientific research, and medical players, which is generating demand for SWIR cameras. As North America is the largest producer of weapons and ancillaries, SWIR products are one of the important technologies being marketed. Moreover, several companies offering SWIR cameras are present in this region, which further adds to the growth of the SWIR market in North America.

A few key players operating in the North America SWIR market are Collins Aerospace (US), FLIR Systems (US), Xenics NV (Belgium), New Imaging Technologies (France), Allied Vision Technologies (Germany), Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (Japan), Photon etc. (Canada), and Teledyne Princeton Instruments (US).