Abstract
Summary
The Infrared detector market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.0% from USD 535 million in 2025 to USD 751 million. The growing popularity of uncooled infrared detectors and increasing demand for infrared detectors in imaging applications, and growing adoption of infrared detectors in motion and
people-sensing solutions are driving the market.
“Infrared detector market for NIR & SWIR is expected to grow at highest CAGR during the forecast period”
Near-infrared light (NIR) refers to the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies just beyond the visible light range, with wavelengths ranging from approximately 700 to 2500 nanometers (nm). Although invisible to the human eye, NIR light is commonly utilized in various applications and industries due to its unique properties. Near-infrared light offers unique advantages in terms of penetration, reflectance, absorption, thermal sensing, communication, and applications in diverse industries. Its properties make it a valuable tool for various scientific, industrial, medical, and technological purposes.
The SWIR (Short-Wave Infrared) detector is designed to detect and capture light in the short-wavelength region of the infrared spectrum. SWIR detectors are typically used to sense infrared radiation with wavelengths ranging from approximately 900 to 2500 nanometers (nm). These detectors can detect and convert SWIR radiation into electrical signals for further analysis and processing. Some of the prominent manufacturers of NIR and SWIR detectors are Excelitas Technologies Corp. (US), Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (Japan), Teledyne FLIR LLC (US), and Lynred (France).
“Infrared detector market for uncooled accounted for the largest share in 2024”
The uncooled infrared detector segment held the leading position, accounting for ~77% of the infrared detector market in 2024. An uncooled infrared detector is an infrared sensor that operates at room temperature or slightly elevated temperatures without the need for cryogenic or thermoelectric cooling, employing temperature-sensitive materials or structures that change electrical properties when exposed to infrared radiation, thus offering advantages such as lower cost, reduced power consumption, compact size, and portability. However, they generally exhibit lower sensitivity and spatial resolution than cooled detectors. Ongoing technological advancements continuously improve the performance and capabilities of uncooled detectors, making them suitable for a wide range of applications, including thermal imaging, surveillance, industrial inspection, automotive safety, and medical devices, enabling functions such as non-contact temperature measurement, night vision, object detection, and heat signature monitoring.
“North America is expected to hold the largest market for Infrared detectors during the forecast period”
The infrared detector market in North America has been further classified into the US, Canada, and Mexico. The demand for security and surveillance systems is substantial across diverse sectors such as government, defense, commercial, and residential in North America. In these applications, infrared detectors are pivotal as they facilitate nighttime surveillance, bolster situational awareness, and offer dependable detection capabilities in environments with limited light or challenging conditions. Furthermore, there is a notable surge in the implementation of industrial automation and robotics in North America, particularly in the manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace sectors. Infrared detectors are employed in machine vision systems, quality control, and process monitoring within these industries, aiding in optimizing production processes and ensuring the reliability of the final products.
Breakdown of the profile of primary participants:
• By Company Type: Tier 1 – 35 %, Tier 2 – 45%, and Tier 3 – 20%
• By Designation: C-level Executives – 35%, Managers - 25%, and Others -40%
• By Region: North America– 45%, Europe– 20%, Asia Pacific – 30%, and RoW – 5%
Major players profiled in this report are as follows: Excelitas Technologies Corp. (US), Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (Japan), Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan), Teledyne FLIR LLC (US), and Nippon Ceramic Co., Ltd. (Japan), Texas Instruments Incorporated (US), OMRON Corporation (Japan), InfraTec GmbH (Germany), Lynred (France), and TE Connectivity (Switzerland)and others.
Research Coverage
The study segments the Infrared detector market report into technology (cooled, uncooled), working principle (absorption, reflection, transmission, emission), wavelength (near and short-wave infrared, mid-wave infrared, long-wave infrared), type (mercury cadmium telluride, indium gallium arsenide, pyroelectric, thermopile, microbolometer, PIR motion sensor, IR photodiode sensor, IR imaging sensor), application (people and motion sensing, temperature measurement, security and surveillance, gas and fire detection, spectroscopy and biomedical imaging, scientific applications, and smart buildings) and vertical (industrial, nonindustrial). The study also provides market size for various segments regarding four main regions—North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and the Rest of the World (RoW).
Reasons to buy the report
The report will help the market leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximate revenues for the overall infrared detector and related segments. This report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to strengthen their position in the market and plan suitable go-to-market strategies. The report also helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provides them with information on key market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges.
The report provides insights on the following pointers:
• Analysis of key drivers (Rapid Adoption of Infrared Detectors in Non-Contact Temperature Measurement, Gas Analysis, Astronomy, and Fire Detection applications, Growing popularity of uncooled infrared detectors and increasing demand for infrared detectors in industrial and manufacturing application, Increasing Utilization of Infrared Detectors in Security and Surveillance), restraints (Stringent regulations pertaining to import and export of cameras), opportunities (Rising demand for infrared detectors in emerging countries; Growing Demand for Infrared Detectors in the Automotive Industry), and challenges (Detection of objects/substances placed beyond wavelength range).
• Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research & development activities, and new product launches in the infrared detector market
• Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets – the report analyses the infrared detector market across varied regions
• Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the infrared detector market.
• Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies and product offerings of leading players like Excelitas Technologies Corp. (US), Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (Japan), Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan), Teledyne FLIR LLC (US), and Nippon Ceramic Co., Ltd. (Japan) among others.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION 29
1.1 STUDY OBJECTIVES 29
1.2 MARKET DEFINITION 29
1.2.1 INCLUSIONS AND EXCLUSIONS 30
1.3 STUDY SCOPE 30
1.3.1 MARKETS COVERED 30
1.3.2 REGIONAL SCOPE 31
1.3.3 YEARS CONSIDERED 31
1.4 CURRENCY CONSIDERED 31
1.5 UNITS CONSIDERED 32
1.6 LIMITATIONS 32
1.7 STAKEHOLDERS 32
1.8 SUMMARY OF CHANGES 33
1.8.1 RECESSION IMPACT 33
2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 34
2.1 RESEARCH DATA 34
2.1.1 SECONDARY DATA 35
- 2.1.1.1 List of major secondary sources 35
- 2.1.1.2 Key data from secondary sources 35
2.1.2 PRIMARY DATA 36
- 2.1.2.1 Primary interviews with experts 36
- 2.1.2.2 Key data from primary sources 37
2.1.3 SECONDARY AND PRIMARY RESEARCH 38
- 2.1.3.1 Key industry insights 39
- 2.1.3.2 Breakdown of primaries 39
2.2 MARKET SIZE ESTIMATION 40
2.2.1 BOTTOM-UP APPROACH 41
- 2.2.1.1 Approach to derive market size using bottom-up analysis (demand side) 41
2.2.2 TOP-DOWN APPROACH 42
- 2.2.2.1 Approach to derive market size using top-down analysis (supply side) 42
2.3 MARKET BREAKDOWN AND DATA TRIANGULATION 43
2.4 RESEARCH ASSUMPTIONS 44
2.5 APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND RECESSION IMPACT ON INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET 45
2.6 RISK ASSESSMENT 45
3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 46
4 PREMIUM INSIGHTS 50
4.1 ATTRACTIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYERS IN INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET 50
4.2 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY WAVELENGTH 50
4.3 NORTH AMERICAN INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY COUNTRY AND APPLICATION 51
4.4 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET FOR PEOPLE & MOTION SENSING, BY WAVELENGTH 51
4.5 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY COUNTRY 52
5 MARKET OVERVIEW 53
5.1 INTRODUCTION 53
5.2 MARKET DYNAMICS 53
5.2.1 DRIVERS 54
- 5.2.1.1 Increased adoption of infrared detectors in non-contact temperature measurement, gas analysis, astronomy, and fire detection applications 54
- 5.2.1.2 Growing popularity of uncooled infrared detectors and increasing demand for infrared detectors in industrial and manufacturing sectors 55
- 5.2.1.3 Rising use of infrared detectors in security and surveillance 56
5.2.2 RESTRAINTS 56
- 5.2.2.1 Stringent regulations pertaining to import and export of cameras 56
5.2.3 OPPORTUNITIES 57
- 5.2.3.1 Rising demand for infrared detectors in emerging economies 57
- 5.2.3.2 Growing adoption of infrared spectroscopy 57
- 5.2.3.3 Rising demand for infrared detectors in automotive industry 58
5.2.4 CHALLENGES 59
- 5.2.4.1 Detection of objects/substances placed beyond wavelength range 59
- 5.2.4.2 Availability of substitute technologies for chemical and petrochemical plants 59
5.3 VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS 60
5.4 ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS 61
5.5 TRENDS/DISRUPTIONS IMPACTING CUSTOMERS’ BUSINESSES 63
5.6 TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS 63
5.6.1 SMALLER PIXEL PITCHES 63
5.6.2 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) 64
5.6.3 ADVANCEMENTS IN HIGH-OPERATING-TEMPERATURE INFRARED DETECTORS 64
5.7 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS 65
5.7.1 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS 65
5.7.2 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES 66
5.7.3 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS 66
5.7.4 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS 66
5.7.5 INTENSITY OF COMPETITIVE RIVALRY 66
5.8 PRICING ANALYSIS 66
5.8.1 AVERAGE SELLING PRICE (ASP) OF INFRARED DETECTORS OFFERED BY TOP THREE PLAYERS 67
5.9 KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND BUYING CRITERIA 68
5.9.1 KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN BUYING PROCESS 68
5.9.2 BUYING CRITERIA 69
5.10 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS 70
5.10.1 INFRATEC GMBH (GERMANY) 70
5.10.2 MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. (JAPAN) 70
5.10.3 TELEDYNE FLIR LLC (US) 71
5.10.4 MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. (JAPAN) 71
5.11 TRADE ANALYSIS 72
5.12 PATENT ANALYSIS 73
5.13 KEY CONFERENCES AND EVENTS, 2025-2026 77
5.14 REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS 78
5.14.1 REGULATORY BODIES, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 78
5.14.2 STANDARDS 81
6 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY TYPE 82
6.1 INTRODUCTION 83
6.2 MERCURY CADMIUM TELLURIDE (MCT) 85
6.2.1 HIGH DEMAND IN TEMPERATURE & MEASUREMENT APPLICATION 85
6.3 INDIUM GALLIUM ARSENIDE (INGAAS) 87
6.3.1 INCREASED DEMAND IN IMAGING APPLICATIONS ATTRIBUTED TO LOW NOISE FEATURE 87
6.4 PYROELECTRIC 89
6.4.1 RISING DEMAND IN PEOPLE & MOTION SENSING APPLICATION 89
6.5 THERMOPILE 91
6.5.1 REVOLUTIONIZING NON-CONTACT TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT, GAS ANALYSIS, AND THERMAL IMAGING APPLICATIONS 91
6.6 MICROBOLOMETER 93
6.6.1 RISING DEMAND IN MEDICAL IMAGING, ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING, AND INDUSTRIAL INSPECTION 93
6.7 OTHERS 95
7 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY WAVELENGTH 97
7.1 INTRODUCTION 98
7.2 NEAR-INFRARED (NIR) AND SHORT-WAVE INFRARED (SWIR) 99
7.2.1 GROWING POPULARITY OF INGAAS AND MCT-BASED INFRARED DETECTORS 99
7.3 MID-WAVE INFRARED (MWIR) 101
7.3.1 HIGH APPLICATIONS OF MWIR DETECTORS IN SECURITY & SURVEILLANCE 101
7.4 LONG-WAVE INFRARED (LWIR) 102
7.4.1 SURGING DEMAND FOR LWIR DETECTORS IN MILITARY & DEFENSE VERTICAL 102
- 7.4.1.1 Key properties of LWIR 103
8 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY TECHNOLOGY 104
8.1 INTRODUCTION 105
8.2 COOLED 106
8.2.1 HIGH DEMAND IN SPECTROSCOPY, GAS ANALYSIS, AND THERMAL IMAGING APPLICATIONS 106
8.3 UNCOOLED 107
8.3.1 RISING DEMAND ATTRIBUTED TO COST-EFFECTIVENESS AND LOW POWER CONSUMPTION FEATURES 107
9 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY VERTICAL 108
9.1 INTRODUCTION 109
9.2 INDUSTRIAL 110
9.2.1 AUTOMOTIVE 110
- 9.2.1.1 Enhances safety and functionality of automobiles 110
9.2.2 AEROSPACE 111
- 9.2.2.1 Used in security & surveillance, quality inspection, and vision enhancement applications 111
9.2.3 SEMICONDUCTOR & ELECTRONICS 111
- 9.2.3.1 Used in quality control and inspection of manufacturing processes 111
9.2.4 OIL & GAS 112
- 9.2.4.1 Deployed for gas & fire detection 112
9.2.5 OTHERS 112
9.3 NONINDUSTRIAL 112
9.3.1 MILITARY & DEFENSE 112
- 9.3.1.1 Employed for vision enhancement 112
9.3.2 RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL 113
- 9.3.2.1 Used for security & surveillance 113
9.3.3 MEDICAL 113
- 9.3.3.1 Highly used for non-contact temperature measurement 113
9.3.4 SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 113
- 9.3.4.1 Used to inspect and analyze material properties 113
10 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY APPLICATION 114
10.1 INTRODUCTION 115
10.2 PEOPLE & MOTION SENSING 117
10.2.1 PLAY CRUCIAL ROLE IN SECURITY SYSTEMS BY DETECTING HUMAN MOVEMENT OR PRESENCE IN RESTRICTED AREAS 117
10.3 TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT 120
10.3.1 HIGH DEMAND IN RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND MEDICAL VERTICALS 120
10.4 SECURITY & SURVEILLANCE 124
10.4.1 WIDELY USED IN SECURITY & SURVEILLANCE ATTRIBUTED TO NIGHT VISION, COVERT MONITORING, AND EXTENDED DETECTION RANGE CAPABILITIES 124
10.5 GAS & FIRE DETECTION 127
10.5.1 HELPS DETECT LEAKAGE OF HAZARDOUS GASES 127
10.6 SPECTROSCOPY & BIOMEDICAL IMAGING 130
10.6.1 USED TO IDENTIFY AND DETECT MEDICINE AND BIOMEDICAL COMPOSITIONS 130
10.7 OTHERS 133
11 INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET, BY REGION 137
11.1 INTRODUCTION 138
11.2 NORTH AMERICA 139
11.2.1 NORTH AMERICA: RECESSION IMPACT 139
11.2.2 US 141
- 11.2.2.1 Presence of several prominent automobile, aircraft, electronics, and healthcare companies 141
11.2.3 CANADA 142
- 11.2.3.1 High investments in defense modernization programs 142
11.2.4 MEXICO 142
- 11.2.4.1 Rising structural reforms 142
11.3 EUROPE 143
11.3.1 EUROPE: RECESSION IMPACT 143
11.3.2 UK 145
- 11.3.2.1 High demand for infrared detectors in people & motion sensing and temperature measurement applications 145
11.3.3 GERMANY 146
- 11.3.3.1 Growing use in industrial sector to ensure product quality and process control 146
11.3.4 FRANCE 146
- 11.3.4.1 Increasing demand for infrared detectors in aerospace & defense industry 146
11.3.5 ITALY 146
- 11.3.5.1 Rising demand in temperature measurement and thermal imaging applications 146
11.3.6 REST OF EUROPE 147
11.4 ASIA PACIFIC 147
11.4.1 ASIA PACIFIC: RECESSION IMPACT 147
11.4.2 JAPAN 149
- 11.4.2.1 Booming manufacturing vertical 149
11.4.3 CHINA 149
- 11.4.3.1 High potential in industrial vertical and nonindustrial verticals 149
11.4.4 TAIWAN 150
- 11.4.4.1 Expanding electronics and information & communication technology verticals 150
11.4.5 REST OF ASIA PACIFIC 150
11.5 ROW 151
11.5.1 ROW: RECESSION IMPACT 151
11.5.2 SOUTH AMERICA 152
- 11.5.2.1 Increasing adoption of cutting-edge wireless communication and networking technologies 152
11.5.3 MIDDLE EAST 152
- 11.5.3.1 Booming oil & gas and automotive verticals 152
11.5.4 AFRICA 152
- 11.5.4.1 Growing commercial, residential, mining, and oil & gas verticals 152
12 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 153
12.1 OVERVIEW 153
12.2 MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS 155
12.3 REVENUE ANALYSIS OF TOP PLAYERS IN INFRARED DETECTOR MARKET 157
12.4 COMPANY EVALUATION QUADRANT, 2024 158
12.4.1 STARS 158
12.4.2 PERVASIVE PLAYERS 158
12.4.3 EMERGING LEADERS 158
12.4.4 PARTICIPANTS 158
12.5 COMPANY FOOTPRINT 160
12.6 STARTUPS/SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTREPRISES (SMES) EVALUATION QUADRANT, 2024 164
12.6.1 PROGRESSIVE COMPANIES 164
12.6.2 RESPONSIVE COMPANIES 164
12.6.3 DYNAMIC COMPANIES 164
12.6.4 STARTING BLOCKS 164
12.7 COMPETITIVE BENCHMARKING 166
12.8 COMPETITIVE SCENARIOS AND TRENDS 167
12.8.1 PRODUCT LAUNCHES 167
12.8.2 DEALS 169
12.8.3 OTHERS 170
13 COMPANY PROFILES 171
13.1 KEY PLAYERS 171
13.1.1 EXCELITAS TECHNOLOGIES CORP 171
13.1.2 HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K 176
13.1.3 MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD 180
13.1.4 TELEDYNE FLIR LLC 184
13.1.5 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED 187
13.1.6 NIPPON CERAMIC CO., LTD 191
13.1.7 OMRON CORPORATION 193
13.1.8 INFRATEC GMBH 196
13.1.9 LYNRED 198
13.1.10 TE CONNECTIVITY 202
13.2 OTHER COMPANIES 206
13.2.1 HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC 206
13.2.2 RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION 207
13.2.3 LASER COMPONENTS 208
13.2.4 DRÄGERWERK AG & CO. KGAA 209
13.2.5 VIGO PHOTONICS S.A 210
13.2.6 XENICS NV 211
13.2.7 MELEXIS 212
13.2.8 FAGUS-GRECON 213
13.2.9 THORLABS, INC 214
13.2.10 SEMITEC CORPORATION 215
13.2.11 IRNOVA AB 216
13.2.12 GLOBAL SENSOR TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD 216
13.2.13 DIAS INFRARED GMBH 217
13.2.14 SENSORS UNLIMITED, INC 218
13.2.15 IRAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (INFIRAY) 219
14 ADJACENT AND RELATED MARKETS 220
14.1 INTRODUCTION 220
14.2 STUDY LIMITATIONS 220
14.3 GAS SENSOR MARKET, BY TECHNOLOGY 220
14.4 ELECTROCHEMICAL 224
14.4.1 USED IN LOW-CONCENTRATION GAS RANGES 224
14.5 PHOTOIONIZATION DETECTORS 225
14.5.1 WIDELY USED IN GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY 225
14.6 SOLID-STATE/METAL-OXIDE-SEMICONDUCTOR 225
14.6.1 LIGHTWEIGHT AND OFFERS HIGH SENSITIVITY AND FAST RESPONSE TIME 225
14.7 CATALYTIC 226
14.7.1 SURGING ADOPTION OF AMMONIA AND METHANE GAS SENSORS 226
14.8 INFRARED 227
14.8.1 USED IN INDUSTRIAL, HVAC, AND IQM APPLICATIONS 227
14.9 LASER 228
14.9.1 ENABLES LONG-RANGE DETECTION OF GASES 228
14.10 ZIRCONIA 228
14.10.1 MAINLY USED IN OXYGEN GAS SENSORS 228
14.11 HOLOGRAPHIC 228
14.11.1 USED FOR GAS DETECTION TO MEASURE REFLECTION PROPERTIES 228
14.12 OTHERS 229
15 APPENDIX 230
15.1 INSIGHTS FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS 230
15.2 DISCUSSION GUIDE 231
15.3 KNOWLEDGESTORE: MARKETSANDMARKETS’ SUBSCRIPTION PORTAL 233
15.4 CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS 235
15.5 RELATED REPORTS 235
15.6 AUTHOR DETAILS 236