June 6, 2008--A new report entitled Ultrafast Lasers--2008 from Strategies Unlimited (Mountain View, CA) forecasts that the ultrafast laser market will reach about $260 million in 2008 with healthy growth expected in coming years, fed by innovations in technology, new suppliers to the market, and some novel applications and strategies. Margins are high and the products are almost immune from commoditization, but the market is overfilled with competitors.
Ultrafast lasers have pulse durations in the picosecond and femtosecond range, so short that many materials can be cut or drilled with no heat damage. Ultrafast lasers are also well-suited for generating non-linear reactions (such as for wavelength conversion or multi-photon imaging), for observing fast phenomena, and for very stable sources for metrology and instrumentation.
In addition to a half-dozen major players, more than 30 other companies offer an ultrafast laser product. This is remarkable even for the highly fragmented laser industry, where success comes to companies that find a niche and patiently nurture relationships with customers to bring up new applications, one at a time. The new report reviews the technology, applications, key trends, markets, and suppliers of ultrafast laser oscillators and amplifiers. It presents forecasts to 2012, including unit sales and price projections, along with estimates of revenues and market shares of key suppliers.
Founded in 1979, Strategies Unlimited specializes in market research and strategic consulting directed at optoelectronics, photovoltaic components and systems, optical networking, and compound semiconductors. The company is a research unit of PennWell Corporation (Tulsa, OK), a global media and information company serving the energy and advanced technology markets since 1910.
For more information, visit www.strategies-u.com.