The North American market for laser materials and components, estimated at $1.2 billion in 2004, is expected to reach $1.8 billion in 2009, with an average annual growth rate of 8.6 percent, according to a report from Business Communications Co. Inc. of Norwalk, Conn. The largest of the market segments, diode laser components, including drivers and optics, is predicted to experience the fastest growth during the period, increasing at an average annual rate of 11.8 percent.

The document, titled RGB-179U Growing Markets for Laser Materials and Components, discusses significant trends and changes in the industry and predicts that China will emerge as a market leader.

According to projections reported in the publication RG-228R The Process Spectroscopy Market, worldwide sales for that instrumentation will expand from $178 million in 2004 to $232 million in 2009, at an average yearly growth rate of 5.4 percent. It is expected that near-IR monitors will make up the largest segment of the market in 2009, with sales of $71 million, as a result of the Food and Drug Administration's Process Analytical Technology (PAT) initiative to streamline drug manufacturing processes.

Chemical and polymer manufacturing will continue to be the largest application market for process spectrometers, and Raman spectrometers are expected to experience the highest growth rate of any instrument, partially because of their expected validation as a PAT technique. The emergence of technologies such as "spectrometry on a chip" is one of several factors that could affect the market, according to the study.

Data from RGB-278 Quantum Dots: Technical Status and Market Prospects suggests that the total global market for quantum dots, now estimated at $10 million, will exceed $500 million by 2009. The dots are expected to have applications in biology, biomedicine, security systems, computing and memory, electronics and display, optical components for telecommunications, and optoelectronic devices such as LEDs, lighting and lasers. It is reported that technological growth and market pull, mainly resulting from the involvement of multinational corporations, will lead to a significant increase in quantum dot production.