What happened in the last 3 years?

In 2013, Tematys has released a Terahertz studies report on market and technology trends covering the electromagnetic spectrum from 200 GHz to 10 THz. 

Since then, Terahertz technologies have been continuously tested on a wide variety of applications outside the historical scientific market: Non-Destructive Testing in Industry, Defense and Security or Biomedical. 

Thanks to these ongoing feasibility studies, manufacturers and end-users gained a much deeper knowledge about the abilities and the limitations of the different Terahertz systems and identified the 3 main functions that THz technologies address:

1. Detection of objects and defects  on large areas
2. Thickness measurement on large areas
3. Chemical and Structural characterization of small objects and defects on small areas (2D) or volumes (3D).

Three trends of technological development to answer the market needs: compact and cheap, cost-effective and high quality, advanced and real-time

The products developed by manufacturers are made to meet the 3 functions of THz. 

Each function leads to a specific type of THz systems with distinct requirements in terms of performance and cost:

1. Detection: building cheap and compact imaging systems able to probe large areas in a limited time. (main systems: terahertz cameras)

2. Thickness measurement: cost-effective and high speed systems with high quality of measurement (main systems: Time-Domain spectroscopy Time-of-Flight (TDS-TOF))

3. Characterization: high resolution and high reliability sensing systems for real-time chemical and structural characterization of the object of interest. (Example of incoming systems: real-time TDS, …)

For each product family, the report studies the innovative systems developed to answer the end-users needs. It also details current and future trends in component developments as well as perspective on cost decrease.

The THz market is expected to grow at a 16% CAGR

The better understanding of THz technologies abilities together with the evolution of the application markets will drive the growth of the THz market. 

This report analyzes the markets of THz technologies (Industrial NDT, Defense and Security, Telecommunications and Biomedical) to identify those where the demand for THz methods is the most mature. For all these markets, the report identifies the most promising THz-based applications. 

With the development of new and more complex composite and ceramic materials and coatings, the industrial NDT market is the major driver of the THz market growth. The terahertz market is expected to grow from € 46 M in 2015 to € 98 M in 2020 with a CAGR2015-2020 of 16%. The industrial NDT market accounts for 46% of the total THz market revenue in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR2015-2020  of 19%.

The report includes a detailed market revenue forecast by application from 2015 to 2020. A forecast of components and systems revenue breakdown is also provided as well as a forecast of unit volume of systems with imaging / sensing breakdown.

Companies mentioned in the report

Ab Millimetre, Acreo Ab, Advantest, Alpes Lasers, Bae Systems, Bakman Technologies, Batop, Bridge12, Bruker Optics Inc., Calmar Optcom, Clark-MXR, Covesion, Das Nano, Del Mar Photonics, Desert Beam Technologies, Digital Barriers (Thruvision), Edinburgh Instruments, Eksma Optics, EKSPLA, Electro Optical Components, Hamamatsu Photonics, Hübner, I2S, Inoex, Institut National d'Optique, Lake Shore Cryotonics, Laser Quantum  (GigaOptics), Longwave Photonics, Luz Wavelabs, Lytid, M Squared Lasers, Menlo Systems, Microtech Instruments, MolTech, NEC, Novatrans Group, NTT Electronics, Ondax, Ophir Optronics, Luna, Protemics, Radiabeam Technologies, Rainbow Photonics, Sacher Lasertechnik, Sciencetech, Becker Photonik, Teraphysics (Teravac), Terasense Development Labs, Teraview, Teratonics, Teravil, TetechS, Terahertz Waves Technologies, Toptica Photonics, Traycer Diagnostic Systems, Vibratess, Virginia Diodes, …

Table of content

1.Executive Summary

2.Introduction

3.Highlights of the report

• Short term positioning of Terahertz technologies
• Mid term positioning of Terahertz technologies
• Long term positioning of Terahertz technologies

4.What happened in the last 3 years ?

• Highlights of the previous report
• Continuous testing of Terahertz
• Market Functions addressed by THz technologies

5.General Presentation of Terahertz and Market Forecast

• General Presentation of THz

• THz Market Estimation 2015 and forecast from 2016 to 2020

6.General presentation of Terahertz Components and Systems

• Segmentation of THz systems
• Segmentation of THz Sources and comparison
• Segmentation of THz Detectors and comparison

7.THz Components and Systems by Functions

• Technologies for Function « Detection »
• Technologies for Function « Characterization »
• Technologies for Function « Thickness »
• Targeted cost decrease of THz systems

8.The most Promising Applications for THz Technologies

• Opportunities in :Industrial Non Destructive Testing, Defense & Security, Biomedical, Telecommunication 
• Roadmap
• Focus on NDT, the main driver of THz market growth

9.TEMATYS at a glance