Future is Photonic in Shenzhen this Year

“Photonics is one of the fastest growing high-tech industries in the world today,” said Eric Mounier, PhD., Fellow Analyst at Yole Développement (Yole). “Pushed by the megatrends including 5G, autonomous driving, AI and more, the industry is still looking for faster speed. Photonics technology, more than electronics solutions, is becoming little by little a serious player in the world of today and tomorrow. Without doubt, our future is photonics.”

The Yole Group of Companies, including Yole Développement, System Plus Consulting, Knowmade and PISEO, announces its annual Executive Forums: Si Photonic, LiDAR, 3D Sensing & IR Imaging from September 4th to 6th, in Shenzhen, China. Organized in collaboration with CIOE, these Forums take place in parallel to the 21st China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE).

Yole has announced a full program with numerous sessions and leading speakers: HIK Vision, Innoviz, Intel, LGE, HP Electronics, Oxford Instruments, Sicoya, System Plus Consulting, Teem Photonics, Lynred (formerly ULIS), Valeo.

“Photonics, including Si photonics, LiDAR, 3D sensing and IR imaging technologies, are experiencing exciting times, due to the meaningful impacts of video consumption, autonomous transportation and new HMIs,” said Guillaume Girardin, Photonic, Sensing & Display Director at Yole. “Yole and CIOE have again decided to combine their expertise this year to offer an impressive program including presentations, debates and networking and with, for the first time, a dedicated Si photonic session. This 2019 edition is wonderful. It will be the place to be to understand the industry’s evolution and to measure the impact of the megatrends.”

The program of the Si Photonic Forum taking place on September 4th, is based on the latest technology and market trends of this industry and includes seven industrial speakers. Si photonics reaches an impressive 44.5% CAGR between 2018 and 2024. According to the Si Photonic report from Yole, the market will grow from around $455m in 2018, equating to 1.3 million units, to around $4bn in 2024, equating to 23.5m units.

In addition, this sector has recently recorded impressive M&A, pushed by the GAFAM. As an example, the acquisition of Acacia Communications by Cisco for $2.6bn is an important milestone in the consolidation of the photonics landscape in many ways.

“With the acquisition of Acacia, Cisco is disrupting the optical telecommunication market,” commented Eric Mounier from Yole.

The program of the IR Imaging Forum on September 6th, is also based on the evolution of the industry. For many years, this sector has shown a steady growth, firstly pushed by the consumer market, and then by automotive and smart home applications. New applications are clearly driving greater shipment volumes and bringing the uncooled IR sensing market into a virtuous cycle.

The uncooled IR detector and imager market looks promising. Annual growth rate is reaching 7% in value over the 2018-2024 period. For microbolometers, numerous commercial applications have driven growth in the imager market. These include thermography, surveillance, PVS and firefighting.

Xueren Wang, R&D Manager, Ningbo Sunny Infrared Technologies, said: “Infrared thermal imaging products can be widely used in various fields and have great market potential. With the breakthrough of infrared detector material and packaging technology, the potential market will be further enlarged. In particular, the emergence of 12μm (and even smaller) detectors has provided more cost-effective options for the market, and has also driven the sale of small infrared lenses. As for IR lenses, it will be smaller, lighter and cheaper.

“Now, Sunny Infrared has created a new technology for compact lenses – SWLO. SWLO is a molding technology similar to WLO, but it significantly will reduce the mould investment with better lens performance. It is the key technology for mass production of large-scale small lenses in the future.”

“Lynred is delighted to participate at CIOE, where we will demonstrate our new Atto640 for the first time in Asia,” added Aurelien Dariel, Product Market Manager at Lynred.“CIOE has become the reference for the world’s optoelectronic industry, enabling an efficient gateway to the Chinese market which is very active in infrared imaging.”

It is also not possible to review the photonics industry without mentioning LiDAR, its market and related technologies. Yole is collaborating once again with CIOE to organize the Second Executive Forum on LiDAR for Automotive. Taking place on September 5th, 2019, the LiDAR Forum presents applications and technologies within the LiDAR industry, and more specifically, automotive-oriented solutions with the participation of seven leading LiDAR companies.

“With the integration of LiDAR in the Audi A8 in 2017, and the introduction of Waymo’s robotic car service in 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona, LiDARs are now on the roads,” said Alexis Debray, PhD., Technology & Market Analyst at Yole. “AD is expected to be one of the next big things in the automotive industry. Several companies, including car manufacturers, Tier 1 suppliers, and LiDAR players, are preparing for mass production of automotive LiDAR with commercialization targets for 2020 and 2021. The automotive LiDAR supply chain is getting ready.”

The 3D Sensing Forum will also be the place to be in September. The market research & strategy consulting company has analyzed 3D sensing for a while. With an impressive collection of reports, presentations, webcasts and dedicated events, Yole’s Photonic, Sensing & Display team is offering a comprehensive knowledge-base, mixing technical and market expertise. The iPhone X by Apple initiated a trend. What will happen next?

“At Yole, we expect the global 3D imaging & sensing market to expand from $2.1bn in 2017 to $18.5bn in 2023, at a 44% CAGR”, explained Pierre Cambou, Principal Analyst at Yole. “Along with consumer, automotive, industrial, and other high-end markets will also experience a double-digit growth pattern.”