Optoelectronics Sales Expected to Flatten

Stephen Lee

The global market for optoelectronic components is slackening because of reduced demand from end users, but new high-speed applications will revive the industry over the next five years. So says consulting firm Frost & Sullivan of Palo Alto, Calif., which estimates in a new report that overall sales of optoelectronic parts will rise from $4.23 billion in 2002 to $7.22 billion in 2009.
In particular, the firm predicts that new blue and blue-green LEDs will supplant incandescent and fluorescent lamps in the signage, transportation and automotive sectors; that emerging modem and power-supply applications will boost optocoupler sales (despite the lack of industry standards in that market); that new types of portable medical diagnostic equipment will be a boon to photodetector makers; and that laser diode sales will remain strong, thanks in part to low-end consumer electronics made in Asia. However, Frost & Sullivan also notes that growth will proceed at a slower rate than in previous years, due mostly to the recent economic downturn.