July 7, 2009—Mountain View, CA—Sales of lasers for low-power materials processing has fallen by 40% 2009, but sales will grow to exceed $460 million by 2013.  While the market appears at first to be merely scaling to the world economy, it is also likely to disrupt mark et share in many segments, in a game of musical chairs.  These are some of the conclusions of a new report from Strategies Unlimited, the leading market research firm covering optoelectronics markets.

            The strongest growth will be in fiber lasers, diode lasers, green lasers, m ode-locked (ultrafast) lasers, and lasers for manufacturing solar cells.    All segments will see some growth beginning in 2010, but there will be more shuffling of technologies and suppliers than is first apparent, given the evolving situation in these segments.

            Coherent, Rofin-Sinar, and GSI Group (including the revenues for Excel Technology for all of 2008) are at the top of the list in last year’s market share.  This is because of the highly fragmented nature of the market.  These companies have strong shares in more than one laser technology in this low-power category, while many companies are highly concentrated in just one, or their sa les are split across other application areas not counted in this study.   

            Lasers for Micro Materials Processing—2009         includes all material processing applications up to 1 kilowatt, but excluding marking and decorative engraving.  The report extends its audit to over 120 applications and the wide range of technology solutions in this highly fragmented category.  The report examines more segments than ever before, including: end-user sectors, processes, power levels, pulse types, laser types, and wavelengths.  For more information, contact Strategies Unlimited at +1 650 941-3438 (voice) or e‑mail at info@strategies‑u.com, or check the company's web site at www.strategies-u.com.

Founded in 1979, Strategies Unlimited specializes in market research and strategic consulting directed at optoelectronics and compound semiconductors. The company, based in Mountain View, California, is a research un it of PennWell Corporation, a global media and information company serving the energy and advanced technology markets since 1910.  PennWell’s many brands include Industrial Laser Solutions, Laser Focus World, Bio Optics World, Photovoltaics World, S olid State Technology Vision Systems Design, and Lightwave,.  For further information, go to www.pennwell.com.