According to a recent market forecast and analysis of the global market consumption and technology trends of vertical–cavity surface–emitting laser (VCSEL) optical communication transceivers, ElectroniCast Consultants (www.electronicastconsultants.com) estimates that the worldwide consumption value of such devices reached $376 million in 2007. This figure is forecasted to increase at a 24.5% average annual growth rate to $1.1 billion in 2012.
VCSEL technology emits light vertically through the surface of a wafer rather than through its edges, as with edge–emitting Fabry–Perot (FP) and distributed feedback (DFB) lasers.
"Strong growth in VCSEL transceiver use is occurring in <10GbE and 1– to 2–Gbit/sec Fibre Channel. This transceiver grouping is forecasted to show 3Ã� growth by 2012. The increased production of VCSEL transceivers is fueling development of 10–gigabit VCSELs, multi–wavelength CWDM VCSEL transceivers, and long–wavelength singlemode VCSELs, and is opening new opportunities for these standards–based applications," says Stephen Montgomery, president of ElectroniCast Consultants â�� APAC.
Very short reach (SONET VSR) modules based on VCSEL transceivers are forecasted for a strong increase in value, while the growth of 10GbE from 2007â��2012 fuels the Ethernet category even higher in 2012. "Use of VCSEL transceivers in military/aerospace applications continues to show strong growth; however, the near–term VCSEL transceiver growth leader will be intra–system links, such as telecom serial links, optical array interconnect/optical backplanes, and InfiniBand," says Montgomery.
The VCSEL transceiver market forecast is available immediately for $12,000 from ElectroniCast Consultants.