According to newly-released information from Technavio, the global infrared sensors market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.14% from 2014-2019, to reach an overall revenue of more than $556 million by 2019.
While the bulk of market growth in this sphere is driven by the security applications of IR sensors in the residential, commercial, defense, and industrial sectors, price erosion of the sensors will likely increase their adoption in commercial markets like the automotive production process, video surveillance, military applications, and healthcare.
Additionally, there are a number of novel uses for infrared sensors that are expected to help boost the global market over the forecast period.
Trends to watch in the infrared sensors market
Integration of IR cores in smartphones
Infrared sensors are getting smaller and cheaper, thanks to an overall trend towards sensor miniaturization and cost-reduction. This cost minimization along with wafer-level packaging techniques, 3D integration, and application-specific integrated circuits will help smartphone vendors integrate IR sensors into their products through the forecast period.
With the aid of photo-managing software, these sensors are useful for:
- Spot temperature measurement
- Photo editing by adjusting the color in a picture
- Thermal layer adjustment
And due to the relatively short replacement cycle of mobile devices, sales of smartphones are perpetually on the rise, with global shipments are likely to reach two billion units by the end of the forecast period.
Therefore, integration of IR sensors into mobile devices would open up a lot of room for market growth for these sensors, and ultimately higher IR sensor market revenues.
Increase in development of uncooled IR sensors with pixels less than 100×100
There are an increasing number of uncooled IR sensors being developed and sold at comparative prices to previous versions, in order to capture the larger market. For instance, Sofradir EC has launched the Ulis 80p family, α-silicon microbolometer 80×80 FPA, and is providing this microbolometer at reduced cost for large-volume orders.
Development of IR sensors with wafer-level vacuum packaging technology
Vendors are developing equipment that will help promote better product differentiation compared to competitors. For instance, OMRON has developed new IR detection equipment with wafer-level vacuum packaging: a 16×16 element MEMS non-contact IR thermal sensor. This new sensor can detect people in a particular space, based on their relative positions, which is a novel value that is expected to help boost the market prospects over the projected period.
