© Semiconductor Today Magazine / Juno Publishing
The ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV LED) market is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.8% from $178.4m in 2016 to $1311.7m by 2025, reckons market research firm The Insight Partners in a new report.
Over the past decade the UV LED market has expanded more than five-fold while it has seen a dramatic transformation in technology as well as adoption patterns, notes the firm. UV LEDs initially were restricted to specific application such as curing, counterfeit detection and sterilization, but over the years they have reached the technical specifications demanded for other applications including medical, water treatment and electronic devices.
A key trend that is expected to predominantly influence the market in the coming years is the evolution of new applications. R&D teams in various companies are working on further developing UV LEDs to cater for next-generation industries. UV light has widespread application in multiple industries, including agriculture, solar products and the food & beverages industry, but implementation of UV LEDs is very limited in these industries, as existing UV LED technology is unable to provide the desired performance. However, there is intensive effort worldwide to development UV LED technology that is more flexible and reliable as well as cost effective. This trend is expected to drive demand for UV LEDs in other novel industries.
The UV LED market is segmented by application into curing, medical, electronic devices, water treatment (purification & waste water management), security and others (mineralogy, astronomy, pest control and home cleaning). The UV curing segment accounts for the largest share of the market, but water treatment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, driven mainly by the ability of LED technology to enable UV water treatment to be used in applications that were not feasible using conventional UV lamps. This has further allowed remote regions to use UV LEDs for waste water treatment and purification.
The Asia Pacific is currently one of the most prominent regions in the UV LED market and is expected to contribute the most revenue due to the prevalence of UV LED packaging firms as well as UV LED applications in countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and China. However, rapidly growing UV LED applications in North America in the coming year will make it the fastest-growing region during the forecast period, it is reckoned. South America is another region that is expected to offer promising growth opportunities.
Companies covered in the report include Philips, LG Electronics Inc, Crystal IS Inc, Nichia Corp, Phoseon Technology, SemiLEDs Corp, Seoul Viosys Co Ltd, Sensor Electronic Technolgy Inc, Halma plc and Heraeus Holding GmbH.
