News

6 August 2009

 

Consumer applications to drive fiber-optic component market

The market for advanced semiconductor devices deployed for analog functions in fiber-optic networks will grow to nearly half a billion dollars by 2013.

That's the conclusion reached by market research company Strategy Analytics, in its latest projection for the sector.

The uptake of devices such as high-speed laser drivers, limiting amplifiers and transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) will grow along with the increased popularity of consumer applications like video-on-demand television services, high-definition broadcasting and social networking, claims the report.

Coupled with the increase in traffic from 3G and 4G mobile communications, the result will create “a re-birth of the fiber-optic market”, and an opportunity worth $492m within four years, says Strategy Analytics.

Its forecast suggests that 10Gbit/s will become the standard network speed to support those applications, with “dramatic growth” of 40Gbit/s links towards 2013.

Suppliers of all sorts of semiconductor components are set to benefit, with the acceleration in network speeds offering opportunities for high-speed devices based on GaAs and InP in particular, since these higher speeds require higher-specification device performance.

InP also offers the ability to integrate large numbers of components on a single chip or device, in the form of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) such as those made by the Californian company Infinera.

Strategy Analytics' report, “Device Opportunities in the Fiber Optic Analog IC Market: 2008 – 2013”, also details system-level applications of semiconductor-based devices such as switches, routers and optical cross-connects.

Search: Fiber-optic components TIAs PICs GaAs InP

Visit: www.strategyanalytics.com

The author Michael Hatcher is a freelance journalist based in Bristol, UK.