The high demand for infrared detectors in the non-industrial vertical, especially for people and motion sensing, temperature measurement, and security and surveillance applications, are key driving factors for the infrared detectors market. The increasing penetration of infrared technology for gas analysis and fire detection and high popularity of uncooled infrared detectors are a some of the other key factors having a positive impact on the growth of the infrared detector market, according to research company Marketsandmarkets.

Pyroelectric market leads the way

Pyroelectric infrared detector segment will lead the infrared detector market, by type, in terms of size, by 2020. The leading position of this segment can be attributed to the high demand for pyroelectric infrared detectors for people and motion sensing, and temperature measurement applications. In these applications, pyroelectric infrared detectors are mainly used for detecting humans, people counting in retail shops, and non-contact temperature measurement. Security and surveillance is another key application of pyroelectric infrared detectors.

High growth for near & short wave infrared 

The market for the NIR and SWIR infrared detectors is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. Wide applicability of SWIR detectors is mainly fueling the growth of this market. Surveillance, moisture detection, spectroscopy, high-temperature thermography, semiconductor inspection, scientific research, and art inspection are some of the common application areas of SWIR detectors. Currently, the price of SWIR detectors is higher than most MWIR and LWIR detectors, which has restricted their wide-scale adoption. However, owing to technological advancements, the price of these systems is expected to decrease in the near future. This factor is likely to increase the penetration of SWIR detectors.

US & Canada key contributors

North America is expected to hold the largest share of the infrared detector market by 2020. The US and Canada are the key countries contributing to the growth of the infrared detector market in North America. Europe is expected to account for the second-largest share of the infrared detector market during the forecast period. The UK and Germany are significant demand-generating countries for infrared detectors in this region.

A few key players cited by the analysts as operating in the infrared detector market include Excelitas Technologies, Nippon Ceramic, Hamamatsu Photonics, Murata Manufacturing, Flir Systems, Texas Instruments, Omron Corporation, Infratec, and Lynred.