Market Overview

The Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser Market is expected to register a CAGR over 18% over the forecast period (2020 - 2025). The increasing adoption of 3D sensing embedded devices by smartphone manufacturers is impacting the growth infrared laser projector sales, thereby influencing the growth of vertical cavity surface emitting laser or edge-emitting laser (VCSEL), a significant component of infrared laser projectors.

  • The increasing usage of VCSEL in sensing and medical applications and data communication, advancements in automotive electronics, and the adoption of VCSEL are expected to increase, during the forecast period.
  • Data centres have become a key component of IT infrastructure, for various organizations. With significant volumes of data being generated on a daily basis, companies are now relying on data centres, for efficient storage and handling of data. High data transfer rates in data centres are particularly essential, as they allow high-speed transmission for processing and retrieving results. With the increasing adoption of data analytics in businesses across the world, to improve decision-making capabilities, the demand for VCSELs in data centres is further expected to increase, during the forecast period.
  • Another prominent trend in the market studied is the usage of smart devices, like smartphones, tablets, etc. Emerging new technologies and increasing consumer demand for advanced smartphones and tablets have boosted the growth of the industry, to a great extent. The demand for VCSEL is directly proportional to the penetration of smartphone-enabled devices. In 2017, global smartphone sales reached more than 1.5 billion units.



Scope of the Report

VCSELs offer precision, high efficiency, reliability, and high speed with the cost-effective solution and these are the most promising new technological developments that have happened in laser physics. VCSELs offer various advantages, such as lower power consumption, higher beam quality, higher modulation speeds, and lower manufacturing cost.

Key Market Trends

Gallium Arsenide is Expected to Hold a Significant Share

  • Since 2017, Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) wafers have been especially crucial in photonics applications. When Apple introduced its new iPhoneX with a 3D sensing function using GaAs-based VCSELs, it significantly boosted GaAs wafers for photonics applications. With the potential adoption of this technology by Android platforms, GaAs-based VCSELs are expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period.
  • For instance, as of 2018 unit sale of iPhones hit 217 million of which products equipped with GaAs-based VCSELs have a considerable share. Similarly, Huawei reported that it sold over 10 million units of its Mate 20 devices which features VCSELs similar to apple tech.
  • The increasing usage of VCSEL in several high-end volume applications, such as data communications, gesture recognition, optical mouse, illumination in infrared (IR) cameras, optical fiber data transmission, and analog broadband signal transmission cement, has emerged as the leading factors driving the demand for the GaAs segment.
  • The introduction of VCSEL is rapidly succeeding the edge-emitting LEDs in the low-power applications. Consequently, the demand for gallium arsenide (GaAs) has increased significantly, especially in data communication, atomic clock technology, POF-based home networking, and barcode sensors.



Asia-Pacific is Expected to Witness Rapid Growth

  • The increasing adoption of smartphones in developing countries and developing wireless infrastructure are influencing the demand for GaAs-based VCSELs, in Asia-Pacific. Electronic companies, such as LG, Samsung, Sony, and HTC are investing millions of dollars in launching better 3G- and 4G-compatible smartphones, which require additional infrastructure to support the functionality. Countries, such as China and India, which have a vast population, are potential markets for updated 3G- and 4G-compatible handsets, thus augmenting consumption.
  • China was the most significant revenue contributor and accounted for a substantial share, due to high production volumes of smartphones. A large number of smartphone manufacturing units are located in China, due to the low cost of raw materials, thus leading to significant demand for VCSEL, in the country. In addition, the number of mobile device subscribers in China is increasing at a rapid rate.
  • However, economically developing countries in the Asia-Pacific such as India, and China are adopting new technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality) enabled smartphones and tablets which is anticipated to increase the demand for VCSEL.



Competitive Landscape

The Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser market is highly competitive and consists of several major players. Many companies are increasing their market presence by introducing new products or by entering into strategic mergers and acquisitions.

  • September 2018 - Osram Opto Semiconductors launched Bidos PLPVQ 940A, a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL). It is a part of a product family that the company expects to pave way for applications such as 3D sensing. According to the company VCSELs such as Bidos are much less sensitive to temperature fluctuations and are easier to integrate, as they can be glued onto a surface like an LED chip or configured as an array. Apart from facial recognition, it can be used for a drone, robotics, AR and VR applications.
  • September 2017 - Philips Photonics carried out product innovation, by investing USD 27 million in projects that are intended to advance VCSEL production project, jointly sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the European Union, and executed under the umbrella of the European ECSEL program.




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