Infrared devices lead gas-sensors market

17 Jun 2002

The gas-sensors market incorporates many different technologies, but only infrared gas sensors are showing significant growth. Nadya Anscombe reports.

From Opto & Laser Europe November 2001

Infrared sensors are the sole type of gas-sensor technology currently experiencing substantial growth in the European market, says a new report from the UK arm of US-based market analyst Frost & Sullivan.

Unlike competing technologies, such as catalytic and electrochemical gas sensors, infrared technology has seen an explosion in demand. Growth within the infrared gas-sensors sector was initially slow due to the size and cost of the technology, but recent improvements in these areas have enabled the performance of infrared gas sensors to outstrip that of market rivals.The Frost & Sullivan report values last year's European gas sensors and analysers market at USD 283.9 million. Infrared gas sensors accounted for USD 112.4 million, or 40% of total revenues. The demand for infrared sensors is expected to remain high as applications for the technology increase over the next few years, with revenues reaching USD 133.3 million in 2007. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 2.4% for the forecasted period.

More than 40 companies compete in the European infrared gas-sensors market. Several of these are large multinationals that manufacture both sensors and analysers, but the majority are small to medium-sized businesses, typically incorporating sensors into their gas-analysing and detection systems. The main players are German firms Sick and Siemens, ABB of Sweden, and Emerson Process Management (formerly Fisher Rosemont) of Switzerland, which share about 60% of the market.

Victoria Whiting, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan in the UK, explained: "The advent of smaller, cheaper infrared sensors with low power consumption has opened this technology up to a wider range of applications. However, much of this growth has come at the expense of declining revenue shares for other technologies on the market - catalytic gas sensors in particular."

The study also revealed a strong trend for high-specification equipment, with many end-users demanding improved performance and higher accuracy. "A division is developing in the market between low, medium and high-specification equipment, each of which requires a different focus from manufacturers," said Whiting.

She believes that the market is being restrained by its own maturity. With the exception of infrared technology, all of the technologies featured in the report have reached maturity. With no major technological developments on the horizon, the growth potential of the market is limited.

Frost & Sullivan analyst Ozan Dogruer said: "Gas analyser manufacturers must invest more money in research and development so that new techniques can be exploited. Some technologies are emerging in the gas-sensor market, such as ultraviolet and ultrasound gas sensors, but their presence is limited to a few applications.

"New technologies need to follow the example of infrared by showing synergy between high levels of performance at a reasonable cost and the versatility to adapt to the needs of various applications."

Used to monitor toxic and combustible gases, infrared sensors have seen a growing demand from the largest application areas, such as chemicals, petrochemicals, power generation and environmental monitoring. They are widely used in off-shore oil and gas refineries and can be used in fixed and portable instruments.

According to Frost & Sullivan, a decline in growth rates is expected towards the end of the forecast period. One factor that will contribute to this is the long life of the sensors, which require little maintenance and have low replacement rates.

Whiting said: "Infrared gas sensors are incredibly robust and can last for relatively long periods of time. Although this is a positive sales point, it could also jeopardize future revenues, because the majority of those who can afford gas sensors have already been catered for and the market is becoming saturated. Future revenues will depend on renewal and replacement. US firm Ion-Optics is developing an infrared gas sensor based on photonic-crystal technology, which it claims is cheaper and simpler to manufacture than current infrared gas sensors.

A silicon microbridge element in the company's SensorChip acts as both an infrared emitter and an infrared detector. It features an array of periodical air holes that give the structure photonic-bandgap properties.

A highly stable drive pulse heats the silicon microbridge, which emits light at the wavelength tuned for a particular gas. The light travels along a short gas path and reflects off a mirror, which focuses the light back onto the microbridge.

The microbridge is only sensitive to light at the wavelength determined by its photonic bandgap pattern. If the target gas is present, some of the light is absorbed by the gas and the silicon microbridge changes temperature. This in turn causes an easily measurable change in resistance or, equivalently, voltage.

More: www.ion-optics.com

Frost and Sullivan http://sensors.frost.com