It is predicted that the ‘Edge-emitting laser (EEL)’, one of the semiconductor-based laser light sources, will maintain a market twice as large as the rapidly growing ‘Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)'. Although the growth rate is lower than that of VCSEL, it is analyzed that it will firmly maintain its position in the market.
According to Yole Intelligence, the EEL market is expected to expand from 3.5 billion USD last year to 7.4 billion USD in 2027. An average annual growth rate of 13% is expected. Although it is slower than the VCSEL market, which is showing rapid growth (19.2%) due to a surge in demand, it is still overwhelming in terms of scale. The VCSEL market size is expected to be 3.9 billion USD in 2027.
As the demand for three-dimensional (3D) sensing such as LIDAR and time-of-flight (ToF)measurementsurges, the market for 'Laser diode', a semiconductor-based laser light source, is also growing. EEL and VCSEL are representative technologies that are leading laser diodes. The EEL emits the laser from the side of the diode chip, and the VCSEL emits from the vertical surface. The advantage of the VCSEL method is that it has excellent performance in terms of light dispersion and power, and it is easy to combine modules. However, the technical difficulty is high, including the epitaxial process for making chips.
Yole Intelligence predicted that the demand for EEL will be the highest in the optical communication field. The optical communication market, which EEL is applied, is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 15% from 2.38 billion USD to 5.616 billion USDby 2027. The second largest market is the material processing market, which is expected to record 674 million USD in five years.
New application markets such as sensing and medical use are also expected to grow rapidly. The new application market, which was only 206 million USD last year, is expected to grow by 16% annually to reach 493 million USD by 2027.
Yole Intelligence said, "Optical communication, such as optical modules and amplifiers,and 3D sensing are leading the EEL growth, and various EEL devices are being developed."
Major Laser Diode Market Forecasts (Unit: 100 million USD)
Source: Yole Intelligence
By Staff Reporter Dong-jun Kwon (djkwon@etnews.com)