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Laser, a device that stimulates atoms or molecules to emit light at particular wavelengths and amplifies that light, typically producing a very narrow beam of radiation. The emission generally covers an extremely limited range of visible, infrared, or ultraviolet wavelengths. Many different types of lasers have been developed, with highly varied characteristics. Laser is an acronym for “light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation.”
Lasers deliver coherent, monochromatic, well-controlled, and precisely directed light beams. Most laser applications fall into one of a few broad categories: (1) transmission and processing of information, (2) precise delivery of energy, and (3) alignment, measurement, and imaging. These categories cover diverse applications, from pinpoint energy delivery for delicate surgery to heavy-duty welding and from the mundane alignment of suspended ceilings to laboratory measurements of atomic properties.
For the future, the laser will evolve in many directions. It will become smaller and less powerful, in some cases down to single photon emission, if we think quantum. On the other hand, lasers will get ever more powerful, up to a region where it pulls particles out of the vacuum.
Laser applications
The ability to focus laser beams onto very small spots and to switch them on and off billions of times per second makes lasers important tools in telecommunications and information processing. In laser supermarket scanners, a rotating mirror scans a red beam while clerks move packages across the beam. Optical sensors detect light reflected from striped bar codes on packages, decode the symbol, and relay the information to a computer so that it can add the price to the bill.
Fibre-optic communication systems that transmit signals more than a few kilometres also use semiconductor laser beams. The optical signals are sent at infrared wavelengths of 1.3 to 1.6 micrometres, where glass fibres are most transparent. This technology has become the backbone of the global telecommunications network, and most telephone calls traveling beyond the confines of a single town go part of the way through optical fibres.
Laser energy can be focused in space and concentrated in time so that it heats, burns away, or vaporizes many materials. Although the total energy in a laser beam may be small, the concentrated power on small spots or during short intervals can be enormous. Although lasers cost much more than mechanical drills or blades, their different properties allow them to perform otherwise difficult tasks. A laser beam does not deform flexible materials as a mechanical drill would, so it can drill holes in materials such as soft rubber nipples for baby bottles. Likewise, laser beams can drill or cut into extremely hard materials without dulling bits or blades. For example, lasers have drilled holes in diamond dies used for drawing wire.
Surgical removal of tissue with a laser is a physical process similar to industrial laser drilling. Carbon-dioxide lasers burn away tissue because their infrared beams are strongly absorbed by the water that makes up the bulk of living cells. A laser beam cauterizes the cuts, stopping bleeding in blood-rich tissues such as the female reproductive tract or the gums. Laser wavelengths near one micrometre can penetrate the eye, welding a detached retina back into place, or cutting internal membranes that often grow cloudy after cataract surgery.
Scientists have shown that lasers can concentrate extremely high powers in either pulses or continuous beams. Major applications for these high-power levels are fusion research, nuclear weapons testing, and missile defense. Extremely high temperatures and pressures are needed to force atomic nuclei to fuse together, releasing energy. In the 1960s physicists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California calculated that intense laser pulses could produce those conditions by heating and compressing tiny pellets containing mixtures of hydrogen isotopes.
Military also uses laser as weapons called Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs). Laser technology provides major advantages for military applications over kinetic weapons due to High precision and rapid on-target effect, precise and scalable effects, avoidance of collateral damage caused by fragmenting ammunition, Low logistics overhead and minimum costs per firing. The development of laser weapons requires many critical technologies, first is development of lasers capable of generating powers in kilowatts to megawatts range to be able to produce useful damage effects on the target.
Laser types
Crystals, glasses, semiconductors, gases, liquids, beams of high-energy electrons, and even gelatin doped with suitable materials can generate laser beams.
Solid-state lasers. This could include slab and disk lasers which are currently used in battlefield targeting applications.
Solid state lasers are electrically powered, and they are separated into three types: Fiber solid-state lasers like LaWS, slab solid-state lasers, and free electron lasers. The power level of solid-state laser technology offers a range of hundreds of kilowatts. DE lasers in the class of 100 kW to 1 MW are needed to pursue applications such as anti-cruise and ballistic missiles. While they avoid the complicated logistics associated with chemical lasers, SSLs are generally not very efficient.
Fiber lasers. The fiber laser is a variation on the standard solid-state laser, with the medium being a clad fiber rather than a rod, a slab, or a disk and Laser light is emitted by a dopant in the central core of the fiber.
While typically used in the commercial material processing industry, this laser technology dominates the lower end of the power scale offering 1kW to tens of kilowatts of power. However, the size and weight requirements make industrially engineered fiber lasers challenging to integrate into defense platforms.
Hybrid lasers. Diode-pumped alkali lasers are a prominent example of the new hybrid technology, which includes elements of both fiber and solid-state laser technologies. Hybrid technology strives to achieve megawatt power levels at size and weight targets compatible with airborne platforms.
Laser Market
The Global Laser Technology Market is estimated to be USD 12.33 Bn in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 17.78 Bn by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 7.6%. The global laser sensors market was valued at USD 989.45 million in 2020.
The laser technology market is driven by factors such as the rise in adoption of laser technology in the electronics sector and medical applications, shift towards micro and nanodevices, and most importantly, increase in demand for laser-based material processing over traditional processing.
Laser processing offers high-quality products, high efficiency, high flexibility, high speed, low cost, and many advantages, which increase the adoption of laser technology by the industries. There has been a high demand for lasers from industries such as electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, among others.
The increasing adoption of various technologies emerging from laser-based applications such as AR/VR, vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is likely to drive the growth of the market. This, in turn, is fueling demand in various industry verticals such as healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, and others.
Primary factors such as favorable government investment, advancements in photonic technology, and rising demand in oil & gas, medical, and other industrial applications, are likely to boost the market growth. In addition, the increasing demand for lasers in the military & defense sector, rising adoption in semiconductor optoelectronic devices such as LDs & LEDs, and ultrashort pulse laser are expected to propel the market. Thus, key players are more focused on developing advanced laser-based solutions to improve customer experience.
Besides, researchers across the globe have been focused on developing laser sensors that can detect the virus at the earliest point of infection from nasal swabs or saliva in several minutes.
On the other hand, high costs associated with the deployment of laser technology, stringent regulatory framework and policies imposed by the government, and lack of skilled personnel and expertise are restricting the market and hampering the growth.
Moreover, technical complexities in high-power lasers and increasing concern related to the environment over the use of rare-earth elements are significant challenges that may negatively affect the market’s growth.
Segmental Outlook
The laser technology market is segmented based on laser type, revenue, application, and end-user. By laser type, the market is segmented based on solid, liquid, gas, and others.
By Application Type, the market is classified into Laser Processing {Macro-Processing [Cutting (Flame Cutting, Fusion Cutting, and Sublimation Cutting), Drilling (Single-pulse Drilling, Helical Drilling, Percussion Drilling, and Trepanning Drilling), Welding, and Marking & Engraving], Micro-Processing, and Advanced Processing}, Optical Communications, and Others.
Based on application, the market is further segmented as laser processing, optical communication, and others. Furthermore, end-user industry is segmented as Automotive, Aerospace & Defence, telecommunications, industrial, Medical, semiconductor & electronics, commercial, and others.
Based on laser type, the solid-state laser is anticipated to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. By application, the optical communication segment is expected to exhibit the highest market share in the forthcoming years. Furthermore, based on revenue, system revenue is expected to account largest market share for the laser technology market globally.
Laser technology has seen widespread adoption due to its multitasking capabilities in a variety of industry verticals. However, significant initial investment and venture capital funds are required to establish its architecture and infrastructure. The operation and setup process is much more complicated, costly, and time-consuming, suppressing the global growth of the laser technology market. Although advanced solutions are advantageous in the long run, deployment costs are prohibitively high, particularly for SMEs, impeding the growth of the global laser technology market.
Laser technology in the medical sector has grown tremendously in recent years. A medical laser is a non-invasive light source that is used to treat tissues and provide quick healing without discoloration or scarring. These have a wide range of applications in dermatology, urology, ophthalmology, and dentistry. One of the key factors driving the global growth of the laser technology market is the increasing demand for medical lasers for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, as well as the growing demand for non-invasive therapies.
According to the region, North America is expected to have the largest market share for laser technology. The tremendous growth in healthcare expenditure and infrastructure, increasing cosmetic surgeries, and a surge in the adoption of advanced technologies are the major factors driving the growth of the laser technology market. Apart from that, the presence of major players with new product offerings in the global market propels the laser technology market worldwide.
On the other hand, Asia-Pacific is projected to dominate the laser technology market in the forthcoming years by recording a significant CAGR. Rising investments in R&D and noticeable developments in the electronics & manufacturing sectors are predicted to drive the laser technology market growth globally. Additionally, surge in demand for cost-effective and fast processing laser machine tools from the semiconductor, industrial, telecommunication, and automotive vertical fuels the growth of the global laser technology market.
Laser Industry
The major players involved in the laser technology market involve Coherent, Inc. (California, United States), Access Laser Company (Washington, United States), Lumenis Ltd. (Tsafon, Israel), IPG Photonics Corporation (Massachusetts, United States), The TRUMPF Group (Ditzingen, Germany), Lumentum Holdings Inc. (California, United States), Corning Incorporated (New York, United States) , Jenoptik AG (Jena, Germany) ,Novanta Inc. (Massachusetts, United States), Lumibird (Lannion, France) ,LaserStar Technologies Corporation (Florida, United States), Epilog Corporation (Colorado, United States), Han’s Laser Technology Industry Group Co., Ltd. (Guangdong, China), MKS Instruments, Inc. (Massachusetts, United States), Gravotech Engineering Pvt Ltd (Maharashtra, India), The 600 Group PLC (Heckmondwike, England), eurolaser GmbH (Luneburg, Germany), Bystronic Laser (Niederonz, Switzerland), Toptica Photonics (Bayern, Germany), Photonics Industries Inc. (New York, United States), Solaris Laser S.A. (Warszawa, Poland), Optotek d. o. o. (Ljubljana, Slovenia) among others.
The heavy investments by major companies in laser technology will have a positive impact on the global Laser Technology Market during the pandemic. For instance, in July 2020, BELKIN Laser Ltd. announced an investment of USD 12.2 million in Series B funding which is also led by Santen Ventures Inc. and Rimonci Capital. The funding will allow easy, effective, and quick treatment for glaucoma patients by using its laser treatment. Moreover, the growing government support for robust laser treatment can further escalate the Laser Technology Market. The Government of the United Kingdom invested around USD 105.10 million to launch an unconventional imaging center – “Extreme Photonics Applications Centre (EPAC)”. This will help generate precise 3D images of the inner structure of objects by using powerful laser technology.
In January 2021, Coherent, Inc., announced a definitive agreement with Lumentum Holdings Inc. (“Lumentum”). The partnership unites Coherent’s leading photonics and laser businesses, including Microelectronics, Precision Manufacturing, Instrumentation, and Aerospace & Defense markets, with Lumentum’s leading Telecom, Datacom, and 3D Sensing photonics businesses, creating a diversified photonics technology company with significantly increased scale and market reach.
In February 2021, Jenoptik, and 4JET jointly announced the launching of new technology. Further, Jenoptik’s Light & Production Division announces cooperation with the 4JET Group to jointly drive the commercialization of innovative laser prototyping technology. The technology enables rapid photo typing of vehicle tires through precise laser material processing. The process replaces the time-consuming manual carving of tires and thus significantly reduces development cycles and prototyping costs in tire development.
In July 2020, IPG Photonics Corporation announced the launching of a new product namely, “YLR-U series near-infrared 1 μm fiber lasers”. The new series are the world’s highest performance industrial grade kilowatt-class continuous wave (CW) ytterbium fiber lasers. With the smallest size and lowest weight in the industry, these lasers deliver unmatched performance in ultra-compact form factor with a record power to volume ratio.
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