Grab Your Shades – The Market Has a Bright Future

Growing demand for advanced technology in the defense and security, industrial, and medical markets is driving laser industry evolution.

BY JUSTINE MURPHY EDITOR

ncouraged by technological advance- ments, new and innovative applica- tions, and progressively declining Emanufacturing costs, the global laser technology market is on track to be a $17 billion industry by 2020, according to the research firm MarketsandMarkets. Photonics Spectra previously examined the global laser market in January 2012 (“Medical Markets and New Niches Drive Laser Advances”). BCC Research reported that the market hit nearly $2.4 billion that year. At the time, industry experts were citing the medical market as one to watch. It remains on the watch list now as one ‘The future is bright for in both industrial of the top advancing sectors. According to BCC analyst Andrew McWilliams, and medical markets … as lasers continue there exists a positive long-term outlook for the medical market, and its growth is to improve in cost, performance and stimulating an influx of potential uses and applications industrywide. cost of ownership.’ “The market is massive,” according Herman Chui, Spectra-Physics to Charlie Shanks, vice president of sales and marketing at Erchonia Corp. in McKinney, Texas, in 2012. And the demand for advanced medical lasers and • laser systems technology continues to in- crease with applications including disease • There is heightened demand for laser BCC Research market report. Ever- diagnosis and treatment, dentistry, and systems within the defense and security advancing laser technology is prompting cosmetic procedures, such as those relat- (namely military) market. Trends in appli- this, as older devices are quickly becom- ing to ophthalmology and aesthetics. cation areas such as airborne laser mine ing obsolete. A BCC Research report released earlier detection are emerging, according to Photonics Spectra (PS) spoke with this year projected that the ongoing evolu- research firm ReportsnReports earlier industry experts for their take on these tion of medical laser technology and laser this year, in addition to “range finding, sectors and their organizations’ roles in sources (including fiber lasers, LEDs and target designation, anti- systems the future global laser market. OLEDs) will keep driving this market’s and in neutralizing opponents’ weapon • Jörg Neukum, director of sales and growth. systems.” marketing for Dilas Diodenlaser GmbH In addition to the medical sector, two • The market for industrial lasers is in in Mainz, Germany, a manufacturer of others are evolving: a strong growth mode, too, says a 2015 high-power diode laser components and

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715LaserMarkets.indd 54 6/23/15 9:19 AM systems for defense, medical, materials processing and other applications. • Marc Tricard, divisional vice president of optics at Zygo Corp. in Middlefield, Conn., a supplier of optical metrology instruments and high-precision optical components. • Herman Chui, senior director of product marketing at Spectra-Physics (a Newport company) in Santa Clara, Calif., a commercial laser company that special- izes in precision laser technologies. • Matthias Schulze, director of market- ing for OEM components and instrumen- tation at Coherent Inc., based in Santa Clara, Calif. • Frank Gaebler, director of marketing at Coherent Inc., based in Santa Clara, Calif. • Kenneth Barat, founder of Solutions in Maricopa, Ariz., and a former laser safety officer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. potential to dramatically reduce the In addition, there are a number of aes- “cost per shot” versus conventional thetic treatments, such as hair removal, PS: To what can the growth of these weapons; High-Power Lasers, built lipolysis, wrinkle removal, etc. These markets [defense and security, around femtosecond lasers, for high- are all treatments which grow when the industrial, medical] be attributed? end physics programs such as the economies are good. Extreme Infrastructure (ELI); Chui: The medical market is growing as Tricard: Recent developments in the medical applications using femtosecond a result of demographic shifts – aging fields of High-Energy Lasers (HEL) for lasers, for a variety of applications such populations, longer life expectancies, defense applications, which have the as surgery. growing middle class in Asia, etc. Neukum: In defense and security, the These trends translate into increasing growth can be attributed to new appli- need for medical diagnoses and Market Briefs, cations such as Directional IR Counter treatments. Growth of lasers in the by the numbers Measures (DIRCM), high-energy medical market is primarily driven by Defense and security laser weapons, as well as a change of replacement of non-laser techniques In a report by MarketsandMarkets, technology from lamp-pumped range due to improved results. For example, the global military laser systems finders and target designators to diode- in ophthalmology, lasers have largely market is expected to grow at a com- pumped solutions. displaced blades in refractive surgery pound annual growth rate of 4.23 In the industrial sector, laser ap- due to improved patient outcomes, and plications replace traditional material lasers are starting to displace blades percent, reaching $2.73 billion by processing techniques due to process in cataract surgery, thereby leading to 2020. advantages, e.g., for plastic welding, increases in demand for lasers in eye Industrial laser-based plastic welding process is a surgery. Globally, the industrial laser market clean, contactless, fast and flexible pro- The industrial market is growing be- should grow at a compound annual cess which even allows online process cause of increasing consumer demand growth rate of 10.23 percent through control. There are a number of good for products from a growing middle 2019, according to Research and reasons to switch to the laser-based class in Asia and longer-term improve- Markets research firm earlier this year. process compared to the traditional ments in economies. The growth in the Medical ultrasonic welding. industrial market is driven by increasing By 2019, BCC Research projects that In the medical sector, laser wave- adoption of lasers in manufacturing the global market for medical laser length is often matched to best absorp- applications for three reasons. First, tion with the tissue treated. This can re- lasers are enabling new manufacturing devices, which took a hit during the sult in less bleeding and faster healing. processes such as micromachining 2008 to 2009 global recession, will Higher power and faster repetition rates materials or features not previously reach nearly $7.8 billion. also support shorter treatment time. possible. Second, lasers are replacing

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existing non-laser processes by vary significantly, and pressure is on providing a significant benefit, e.g., the photonics industry to support that reduced end-product cost by increasing variety. throughput, eliminating process steps, Chui: In the industrial market, the most improving yield or reducing operating common application for lasers and costs from consumables/waste, etc. laser systems is machining, whether Third, capacity requirements for for “macro” or “micro” features, and existing laser-based processes are for metals and many other materials. increasing as overall product demand Lasers are helping the industrial market increases, or the mix of manufacturing growth by improving machined part processes shift from non-laser to laser. quality and cost, thereby increasing the If one looks at the manufacturing of market opportunity and demand for this smart phones, one can see all three of industrial manufacturing equipment. In these drivers in play – lasers enabling the medical market, ophthalmology new, finer features not previously (in particular, laser eye surgery) is possible; lasers replacing mechanical one of the most common applications processes; and increasing laser capacity for lasers. In this application space, requirements as smart phones demand lasers are resulting in improved patient ramps up. outcomes, thereby driving increasing Gaebler: The industrial market covers an demand for these procedures. LASIK is extremely diverse array of applications, an example of how the improved results from metal cutting, welding, cladding largest, but marking is still good, and from lasers resulted in rapid growth in and heat treating in areas such as oil micromaterials processing is growing, the adoption of refractive surgery. Since and gas, automotive, and appliance especially for ultrafast laser processing. its start in the early 1990s, LASIK has manufacturing, to high-precision And the medical market has a steady grown to approximately 30 million microstructuring in machine tool market from treatments with clinical procedures annually worldwide. production and microelectronics indications, but the growth seems to be Tricard: Our exposure to these applica- fabrication. There are numerous market in the aesthetic sector. tions has been in part because Zygo is forces at work across all these indus- Schulze: [In the medical market], two of uniquely qualified to design and manu- tries; consequently, some are currently the most important tools used in the facture high-end optical components growing and some are not. development of precision therapies are and/or optical assemblies that many or Barat: In my mind, the technology flow cytometry (for blood analysis) and most of these new laser applications advances in diodes and fiber are what gene sequencing (for genetic charac- require. Examples include optics made have opened up new applications. Just terization of an individual). Currently, for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) think –100 kW fiber systems are now fluorescence is a key technique in how at Lawrence Livermore National turnkey, able to run systems on 110 V both of these applications operate. And Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., or its so 220 or 480 wiring is not required, lasers and LEDs are the most com- French equivalent, the Laser Megajoule making the systems more acceptable. monly used fluorescence excitation (LMJ) in Bordeaux, France. As more systems become turnkey, source. Cytometers that employ sources user knowledge and maintenance having a larger number of PS: What do you see in the future requirements decrease, so acceptance over a broader spectral region can for each of these markets [defense increases. It is the old “keep it simple” perform a more extensive analysis of a and security, industrial, medical]? that is so appealing to product develop- sample in a shorter time. Currently, ers and users. cytometers that use 10 or more separate Schulze: The [medical] market will grow wavelengths are relatively large and tremendously as OPSLs (optically PS: What are the most common expensive tools, and are used almost pumped semiconductor lasers) enable applications for lasers and laser exclusively in research laboratories. more sophisticated instrumentation to systems in each of these markets The goal is to bring the size and cost transition from the research lab into [defense and security, industrial, of these instruments down to a level clinical settings. Plus, we see that medical], and how are they assisting where they can more readily be used in instrument makers are also striving to with growth? clinical labs, and ultimately perhaps, improve ease of use in terms of things even in individual physicians’ offices. like sample preparation, so that less Neukum: In defense, the biggest applica- Sequencing instruments also utilize a operator training is required to utilize tion in terms of quantities is laser range number of wavelengths but these are their systems, and so that results are finders, but DIRCM is growing fast. not as standardized as it is in cytom- more consistent and less operator HELs are small in quantity but large in eters because there are a number of dependent. All this facilitates the trend terms of cost per unit. In materials pro- competing laser-based approaches. As toward more widespread use of these cessing, the cutting market is by far the a result, laser solutions in sequencing technologies.

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715LaserMarkets.indd 56 6/23/15 9:19 AM Barat: Laser weapon acceptance will machining applications. The medical only grow, as well as the use of spin-off sector is such a wide range with its ‘As more [laser] applications and advances having more diverse applications but it offers good robust systems in rough environments, opportunities for new wavelengths. systems become turnkey, many of which no one would have tried Chui: The future is bright for lasers in using a laser in 15 years ago. Consumer both industrial and medical markets. user knowledge laser systems, like hair and wrinkle As lasers continue to improve in cost, removal, can be made safer. Medical performance and cost-of-ownership, and maintenance sensing will increase and replace more and more applications can be en- blood sugar testing over finger pricks. abled by or benefit from laser processes requirements decrease, Internal sensors on a chip will become in the industrial and medical industries. common place. Laser systems as a Gaebler: For sheet metal cutting and so acceptance replacement in traditional industrial other heavy industrial applications, systems will increase, and many new continued reductions in laser price, increases.’ Ken Barat, Laser Safety Solutions applications will pop up. Just think how together with improvements in lifetime 3-D printing has bloomed. and reliability, will help the market to Neukum: In defense and security, the big continue to expand. It’s hard to know in laser systems are not yet field deployed, advance what will emerge as the “killer but test programs have started, and it app” in this space, but the capabilities will be in the medium time scale that provided by [ultrashort pulse] lasers are • HELs will be deployed. Also, counter- certain to play a key role in the devel- measures are on the rise. The industrial opment of [the] market. considered for deployment in the field. sector will see additional growth by Tricard: The defense industry has been Similarly, new classes of short-pulse direct diode applications, such as clad- working on laser systems since the lasers, particularly in the femtosecond ding, hardening and additive manufac- “” days 30+ years ago. It is regime, are opening exciting new long- turing, but also for -based now encouraging to see actual systems term possibilities. cutting applications and in the ultrafast getting out of the laboratory and being [email protected]

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