Market Watchers Anticipate Growth in IR Imaging

Increased demand for IR imaging focal plane array systems and sensors signal continued steady growth in the IR market, despite growing price and consolidation pressures on companies.
That is the prediction from market watchdog Frost & Sullivan, which forecasts an annual growth rate of 29 percent. In 1996, revenues for focal plane array sensors reached $283.7 million; at the integrated system level, revenues reached $1 billion.
The greatest growth will be in emerging microbolometer, ferroelectric and multiple quantum well technologies. The research group also predicts that opportunities will emerge in high-performance IR sensor technologies as new military programs go online.