Positive take on optoelectronics market - OIDA

16 Nov 2006

Expanded report addresses many new market segments.

The annual Global Optoelectronics Industry Market Report & Forecast has this month been published by the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA). Weighing in at 410 pages, the document is available now to OIDA members and will be available for purchase by non-members on OIDA's website from May 2007.

The report includes market data and forecasts for most areas of the optoelectronics industry including diode and non-diode lasers, high brightness LEDs, displays, telecoms and optical communications, sensing, medical, optoelectronic nanotechnology, defense and even a chapter on VC investment in the field.

Among a generally positive swathe of observations and predictions, a significant finding of the report is that consumer and entertainment optoelectronics are maintaining strong momentum, driven in particular by demand for liquid crystal displays in TV sets, PDAs and mobile devices. LCD sales account for over 70% of the optical components industry - with a trend of continuing growth.

Other notable results from the report include:

• Solar cells and display modules exhibited the strongest segment growth in 2005, at 24% and 19%, respectively.

• Image sensors and high brightness (HB) LEDs now own 60% of the global optoelectronics sources and detectors market. Although HB-LEDs suffered price erosion in mobile handsets, volumes increased significantly.

• The 405 nm blue laser market has been slower than expected due to technical difficulties with laser specifications and alignment tolerance.

Telecoms activities

Considering the telecoms sector, OIDA determined that the key growth area in this market is [still] in Asia. "New build-outs and new equipment for areas that have no or limited infrastructure represent most of the industry growth," states the report.

OIDA also notes the emergence of "quad-play" (triple play plus mobile telephony): "Carriers and multiple system operators are realizing that wireless will be a critical component in servicing their customer base."

There continues to be slow penetration of fiber to the node/premise in the US; DSL and cable will remain as the "mainstay" for the next few years, is OIDA's prediction. However the SFP+ transceiver in datacom is set to change the landscape from the incumbent XPF-based transceivers. (SFP+, the small transceiver module standard, is regarded as the most cost-effective and low-power form factor for high-speed enterprise connectivity).

The programmable networks segment is growing much faster than the telecommunications sector in general with reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) and tunable lasers which allow carriers to add/drop wavelengths on a per customer basis.

Conclusion, diary dates

Considering the broad scope of his company's wide-ranging report Michael Lebby, OIDA's president & CEO said, "We will be studying these phenomena next year, between April 3-4, at an OIDA forum on consumer optoelectronics." Further results of the study will be presented at OIDA's Annual Forum on December 6-7 2006 in the group's home city, Washington, DC.