PIC market to escalate to over $1.5 million by 2022
These devices, many based on Silicon-on-Insulator and Silica-on-Silicon technology, have changed the dynamics of the optical network industry
According to a new MarketsandMarkets publication, the total PIC market is expected to reach $1,547.6 million by 2022, at a CAGR of 26.3 percent.
Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are also known as planar light wave circuits or integrated optoelectronic devices.
The technology has revolutionised the optical network industry.
Its ability to process large amount of data at huge speeds makes it an important contributor in enhancing the transmission capacity of optical fibre communications.
PICs have changed the dynamics of the optical network industry by increasing optical performance and reliability while reducing physical size, power consumption and heat dissipation.
Currently, 500 Gbps PICs have been developed to deliver high-capacity transmission while optimising power, cooling, space and operational simplicity.
PICs are being developed for other applications like optical sensors, quantum computing and biomedical.
Quantum computing is forecasted to be commercialised by 2017. It is expected to take the market by storm from the moment it is launched. It is also predicted to grow at a phenomenal rate of 139.6 percent from 2017 to 2022.
The emergence of silicon photonics has also changed market dynamics as it has enabled large scale production of PICs at low cost.
At the moment, the main players are developing medium and large PICs capable of incorporating 100-1000 components/functions in a single indium phosphide based monolithic substrate.
There are various types of integration techniques used to fabricate PICs. These include module, hybrid and monolithic methods. The raw materials consist of Silica on Silicon, Silicon on Insulator (SOI), lithium niobate and compound semiconductors.
At the moment, North America is the biggest market for PICs followed by Europe and APAC. However APAC is anticipated to emerge as the market leader by 2022 because of the prolific growth of datacentres and access network in the region.
The report from MarketsandMarkets, which describes this subject in more detail is, "Global Photonic Integrated Circuit (Ic) & Quantum Computing Market (2012 - 2022) by Application [Optical Fiber Communication and Sensors, Biomedical], Integration [Hybrid, Module and Monolithic], Components, Raw Materials and Geography."]
