Technical Insight
DWDM market to reach $34.6 billion by 2009 (Market News)
DWDM market to reach $34.6 billion by 2009 Fed by the continuing strong demand for bandwidth, the market for major components used in dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) systems and optical add/drop multiplexers will grow tenfold to $34.6 billion by 2009, up from $2.85 billion last year. According to a study by ElectroniCast of San Mateo in California, more than half (54%) of these components which include laser diodes, amplifiers and photodiodes for receivers will be required for the North American market. DWDM component technologies have advanced to the point that DWDM networks are now the clear economic winners in undersea cable and long-haul terrestrial networks. Technology advances and falling gigabit-kilometer prices also mean that WDM will increasingly be applied to shorter-distance links. Optoelectronics set to dominate The fastest-growing segment will be for integrated optoelectronic components, which include OEICs and photonic ASICs using hybrid integration schemes at first, followed by integration of active chips and passive waveguides. These will make up 37% of the overall market by 2009 (see ). Although the DWDM filter module is a key element of the high-capacity fiber network, its cost per channel is moderate compared with the transmitter and receiver, according to ElectroniCast s president, Stephen Montgomery. "While the per-channel cost of transmitter/receiver [T/R] pairs at a fixed wavelength will drop more rapidly than the filter cost, there will be a strong countering trend towards the deployment of higher-data-rate, more expensive T/Rs," said Montgomery. "The combined T/R and integrated optoelectronics share of the global DWDM component consumption was 62% in 2000. This will grow to 85% or a total value of $29.4 billion in 2009." In addition, the multiwavelength transmitter set, which can contain several lasers at different wavelengths, is an important element of DWDM systems. "The transmitter set and the DWDM filter module must provide the required number of wavelengths/channels, with the precise spacing between channels and very narrow optical width per channel," explained Montgomery. "Only extremely small amounts of drift are permitted during any operation. By contrast, the photodiodes in the receiver require less precise control." DWDM Products Global Market Forecast is available from ElectroniCast. See "www.electronicast.com" for details.
