Silicon photonics market worth $7.52 billion by 2029
The global silicon photonics market was valued at USD 2.16 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 7.52 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 28.3% from 2024 to 2029 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets.
The primary factor driving the silicon photonics market growth is the focus on power consumption using silicon photonic-based transceivers. It is challenging to meet the ever-increasing demand for high-speed data transfer with conventional copper cables. Compared to traditional electronic transceivers, silicon photonics transceivers have several advantages, including higher bandwidth, lower latency, and lower power consumption. They can help lessen energy costs by reducing the power needed for data transfer. In addition, silicon photonics technology can enable new applications previously impossible with traditional electronic transceivers.
The silicon photonics market for data centers is expected to grow at the largest market during the forecast period. The data center industry includes applications like data center trans receiver, 5G trans receiver, photo processing, CPO, and optical interconnect. The silicon photonics market is rapidly expanding, with numerous applications of silicon photonics technology and products based on this technology in the computing industry across various countries worldwide. This market is projected to grow due to the increasing research & development investment by silicon photonics companies in developing this technology and the rising global demand for multimedia extension connectors (MXC) connectors, photonic-integrated circuits, silicon optics, and more. Mega data centers are facing the problem of heavy internet traffic. They are steadily increasing their investments in large data centers as they implement cloud-based extensive data services that can be crowdsourced and crowd-distributed. They used machine-to- machine and inter-data centers and high-performance computing transactions to power the mobile web. For instance, in February 2023, Marvell Technology, Inc. selected Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) as its cloud provider for electronic design automation (EDA).
The optical waveguide segment is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.
The optical waveguide as the component is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period. They are applied to the transfer and control of light in integrated circuits in the field of photonics. Typically, lithography techniques are used to etch a silicon substrate to form a waveguide pattern. It has several benefits, such as low power consumption, high integration density, and ease of integration into electronic circuits due to its compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processing technology. The market is expanding due to major companies increased strategic development. For example, in 2021, Anello Photonics, the developer of the Silicon Photonic Optical Gyroscope, and Tower Semiconductor, the leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, announced a strategic partnership for a new low-loss silicon optical waveguide technology and manufacturing process.
The US to holds the largest market in North America during the forecast period.
The US is one of the most developed countries in North America. The use of silicon photonics in telecommunications and data communication in the US is driving the country's silicon photonics market growth. In the US, it is found that mergers & acquisitions and partnerships are playing a pivotal role in developing the silicon photonics market. In March 2021, Cisco Systems, Inc. (US) acquired Acacia Communications, Inc. (US) for USD 4.5 billion for manufacturing high-speed, optical interconnectivity, and photonic-integrated modules and transceivers, increasing its presence in the silicon photonics industry.
The report profiles key players in silicon photonics companies such as Cisco Systems, Inc. (US), Intel Corporation (US), MACOM (US), GlobalFoundries Inc. (US), Lumentum Operations LLC (US), Marvell (US), Coherent Corporation (US), IBM (US), and STMicroelectronics (Switzerland).
