The infrared (IR) LED market for surveillance applications will grow from $94m in 2014 to $120m in 2015, according to '2Q15 Gold Member Report - 2015 Global LED Supply and Demand Market' from LEDinside (a division of TrendForce).
Surveillance systems have become ubiquitous, and governments in developed countries have set aside bigger budgets for upgrading their security-related infrastructures, notes assistant research manager Joanne Wu. Demand has become even stronger in areas with political turmoil and social problems, such as Central and South America, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, adds the report.
As a result, major IR LED makers have profited greatly by supplying components to surveillance products. These companies include Japan's EPITEX and Germany's Osram Opto Semiconductors. Taiwan-based firms that also benefited from IR LED market growth include Epistar, Epileds and High Power Lighting.
With its main wavelength range of 750-1400nm, near-infrared (NIR) LED is primarily used for imaging, as in the case of surveillance cameras. Cameras with night-vision ability are typically equipped with digital image sensors based on one of the following two technologies: charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). These sensors come with IR LEDs emitting at a wavelength of 850nm or 940nm.
Due to its high cost, CCD has difficulty making inroads into the security application market. Standard surveillance cameras therefore use CMOS sensors paired with 850nm IR LEDs in order to get the best price-performance ratio.
However, some high-end surveillance cameras carry the more costly 940nm IR LEDs, since they are less likely to create a visible red dot than 850nm IR LEDs. Note that this red-dot effect that sometimes occurs with IR LEDs does not mean that the LEDs are of poor quality. On the whole, both vendors and consumers choose between 850nm and 940nm IR LED products based on their respective needs.
In her survey of the IR LED's development, Wu believes that the 3535 package will eventually replace the traditional lamp-type package. Currently, the packaging of IR LEDs is divided into three types – lamp, SMD and high-power LED packages. Adopting high-power LEDs will reduce the number of LEDs needed as well as simplify circuit and heat dissipation design, thus increasing convenience for system manufacturers, concludes the report.
