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New ElectroniCast Study Finds Consumption of Fiber Optic Components in Harsh Environments Maintains Steady Growth
January 20, 2004 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
San Mateo, Calif. — According to ElectroniCast Corp., the consumption (use) of harsh environment fiber optic components maintained steady growth during the years 2001 through 2002. However, the global consumption of conventional and commercial fiber optic component use dropped drastically.
The global consumption of harsh environment fiber optic components will climb from $508 million in 2000 and $1.19 billion in 2003 to $2.31 billion in 2007. The market value is dominated by military/aerospace-qualified components, with a 76 percent share in 2000, and expanding to 79 percent or $1.82 billion by 2007. Harsh environment components are used in a wide range of applications. The leading consumption application will be the aircraft/spacecraft segment of military/aerospace applications, with a 34 percent share in 2000 declining to 29 percent or $699 million by 2008. The commercial/industrial fiber optic component consumption, in turn, is dominated by plastic optical fiber (POF) links. This ElectroniCast study defines harsh environment as an environment beyond the limits normally encountered by commercial telecom, data communication and intra-equipment fiber data links; operating in extremes of:
- Temperature; above or below -40 to 75°C
- Shock and vibration
- Tensile strength (e.g., for fiber-guided missiles, tethered sensors, etc.)
- High electromagnetic or radio-frequency (EMI/RFI/EMP) interference
- Corrosive and/or solvent surroundings
- Atomic and other radiation
- External pressure extremes
- Rough handling during installation/deployment
- Others
The specifications of these environments also vary widely, beyond commercial specifications, depending on applications. A high temperature requirement of 85°C for military/aerospace, instead of 75°C commercial is most common, but there are 1,000°C environments; 100G shock, 1,500 rem/hour radiation, etc. that can be required of fiber optic components.
Although military applications, plus non-military/aerospace, dominate the market value of harsh environment fiber optic, communication links, commercial telecom and data communication links sometimes must withstand, and operate during, stress beyond typical specifications. Telecom cable installed in sewers is an example and also RF signal (on optical carrier) links installed on antenna towers. A significant concern of copper signal cables is the vulnerability of the signals to interference caused by radio signals, sparks of arc welders and motor brushes, and engine cylinder ignition. As fiber signal link costs continue downward, and as transmitted data rates continue to increase, fiber increasingly will displace copper in automotive, factory and numerous other applications. While conventional glass fiber cable and optoelectronics are immune to EMI and RFI, plastic optical fiber (POF) is equally immune, and is more resistant to other harsh environments such as shock/vibration and rough handling during installation, and permits lower cost fiber links in high volume automated production. Through the 1990-2000 decade, the harsh environment active fiber optic component consumption was dominated by system contractors (such as Boeing, Lockheed and Raytheon) captive production. These components and parts typically were custom-designed for the specific application, starting from purchased commercial units, which were then modified (a substantial design effort) to meet the environmental requirements of a specific missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other system. Many of these system contractors now are transitioning into supplying these components to other contractors, and some commercial-component vendors are developing harsh environment versions of their commercial components. The global available market share of harsh environment components will expand from only 33 percent ($168 million) in 2000 to 43 percent ($993 million) in 2007. ElectroniCast Corp. is a world leader in forecasting for the fiber optic, optoelectronic and photonic industries. For more information, visit www.electronicast.com.