Global Optical Sensors Market Analysis and Forecast (2013 – 2018) 07/17/2013 | Page 12
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Optical sensors are electronic detectors which work on the presence or absence of light or
infrared rays and convert the same into an electronic signal. Usually they are part of a much
larger system where this electronic signal is interpreted or analyzed in different ways to produce a
result like presence of a person, capturing an image, movement of an object or position of an
object and so on.
The Global Optical sensor market is rapidly growing across the globe due to the increase in
demand for the handheld devices like tablets and smart phones. Smart phones and tablets are
very rapidly growing and are here to stay and as long as the market persists there will be increase
in demand for optical sensors like light and proximity sensors. Light and proximity sensors based
on the estimation are expected to grow to a $1.5bn industry by 2018 due to steady rise in the
market for handheld devices.
The Global Optical sensor market is slated to grow at 5-6 % CAGR year on year for next 5
years. The market is estimated to reach $18.7bn by 2018.
.
SAMPLE TABLE 1: GLOBAL OPTICAL SENSORS DEMAND ANALYSIS - BY
TYPE (2013-2018) ($BN)
SENSOR TYPE
Position sensor
ALS Sensor
Image Sensor
Color Sensor
Photodiodes
Photo Resistors
Presence Sensor
Motion Detector
IR sensor
2013
$Bn
2014
2015
2018
$Bn
XX
0.85
8.75
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
0.18
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1.5
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
0.41
Source: IndustryARC Analysis
The Light/proximity sensor market is also expected to grow very rapidly due to their extensive
use in mobiles and tablets. Due to urbanization and affordability the market for those devices is
increasing and so is the growth for these sensors. On the other hand image sensor market is
skyrocketing compared to other sensors as it’s very widely used. The market for image sensors
goes from cameras to medical applications. The wide market for image sensors is making it the
largest segment in the optical sensor industry. The segment with least market size is IR sensors
according to analysis. It is due to the gradual decrease in the use of infrared sensors as advanced
IndustryARC | 12