Current situation and future development trend of global and Chinese laser inter

Laser interferometer is a measurement and test method based on light wave as carrier and light wavelength as unit. It is recognized as a high-precision and high-sensitivity detection means, and is widely used in high-end manufacturing fields.

Laser interferometer products have the advantages of high measurement accuracy, fast measurement speed, high resolution at the highest measurement speed, large measurement range and so on. By combining with different optical components, it can realize the measurement of straightness, perpendicularity, angle, flatness, parallelism and other geometric accuracy. With the cooperation of relevant software, it can also detect the dynamic performance of the CNC machine tool, test and analyze the vibration of the machine tool, analyze the dynamic characteristics of the ball screw, analyze the response characteristics of the drive system, and analyze the dynamic characteristics of the guide rail. It has very high precision and efficiency, and provides a basis for the error correction of the machine tool.

In 2021, the global laser interferometer market reached US $74.44 million, and is expected to reach US $86.13 million in 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.92%.

Figure 1: global laser interferometer market sales and growth rate: (2017-2028)

Source: third party materials, news reports, interviews with industry experts and research by globali info research, 2022

At the regional level, the Chinese market has changed rapidly in the past few years. In 2021, the market size was US $11.18 million, accounting for about 15.02% of the world. It is expected to reach US $18.28 million in 2028, when the global share will reach 21.22%.

In terms of product type and technology, the market scale of dual frequency laser interferometer will reach 38.40 million US dollars in 2021, and it is expected to reach 57.75 million US dollars in 2028. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2021 to 2027 is 5.40%. The market scale of single frequency laser interferometer reached USD 36.04 million in 2021, and it is expected to reach USD 28.38 million in 2028. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2022 to 2028 is -3.30%.

The light beam emitted from the laser of the single frequency laser interferometer is divided into two paths by the beam splitter after beam expansion and collimation, and is reflected from the fixed mirror and the movable mirror respectively to converge on the beam splitter to produce interference fringes.

Dual frequency laser interferometer is a heterodyne interferometer developed on the basis of single frequency laser interferometer. Like the single frequency laser interferometer, the dual frequency laser interferometer is also an instrument that measures the measured length with the wavelength as the standard. The dual frequency laser interferometer can verify gauge blocks, measuring rods, engraved rulers and coordinate measuring machines in the constant temperature, humidity and shockproof measuring room. It can not only accurately measure a large range of tens of meters, but also accurately measure small movements such as watch parts. It can not only measure geometric quantities such as length, angle, straightness, parallelism, flatness, perpendicularity, etc., but also can be used in special occasions, such as micro positioning of semiconductor lithography technology and measurement of recording slot spacing on computer memory.

In terms of product market application, the market scale of laser interferometer products applied to industrial precision detection is the largest, accounting for 50.39% in 2021. Among them, the ultra precision control of semiconductor equipment will grow the fastest in the forecast period. The market scale of this application will reach $10.00 million in 2021, reach $13.75 million in 2028, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2021 to 2027 will be 4.48%.

At present, the world's major manufacturers include Renishaw, keysight, API, Zygo, Jenaer Chengdu Tool Research Institute and radium measurement technology. In 2021, the share of the world's top seven manufacturers reached 89.51%. It is expected that the industry competition will be more intense in the next few years, especially in the Chinese market.

Figure 2: market share of laser interferometer revenue of major manufacturers in the global market in 2021

Source: third party materials, news reports, interviews with industry experts and research by globali info research, 2022

Current development status of laser interferometer industry

From the global market, old European and American manufacturers such as Renishaw and keysight still occupy a high market share.

In the domestic market, the market concentration is relatively low, among which the large-scale enterprises include Chengdu Tool Research Institute, radium measurement technology, China graphics instrument, etc.

Over the years, little progress has been made in single frequency and dual frequency laser interferometers at home and abroad, especially the invention of birefringent Zeeman dual frequency laser. As the laser purchased from abroad can not produce double frequency light with large interval, the original domestic suppliers of double frequency laser interferometers basically stop production. The birefringent Zeeman dual frequency laser, which was previously used as a basic research, was pushed to the front stage. Dual frequency laser is the core technology of interferometer, which is at the forefront of the world and also solves the major problem of passive in China. The development and correction of Beijing radium Measurement Technology Co., Ltd. has finally made the birefringence Zeeman dual frequency laser interferometer a product and entered the advanced manufacturing industry, especially the lithography machine. The birefringent Zeeman dual frequency laser of Beijing radium Measurement Technology Co., Ltd. meets the index: the frequency interval can be selected between 1 and 30 MHz, and the power can reach 1MW. There is no interaction between the frequency difference and the laser power, and the dual frequency laser without Zeeman effect cannot have both high power and large frequency difference.

Although progress has been made, the manufacturing process of He Ne laser is a systematic technical problem, which needs to be comprehensively improved. In particular, the lasers of several foreign enterprises of dual frequency laser interferometers are produced and used by themselves, and are not sold. Therefore, we must solve the problem ourselves.

Development trend of laser interferometer

Dual frequency laser interferometer has become a widely used instrument in precision measurement. Many companies at home and abroad have commercialized instruments for sale. However, this often gives people the illusion that the laser interferometer has fully met the needs of the manufacturing industry, and there is no need to study it. In fact, in recent years, with the development of science and technology, people have put forward higher requirements for measuring tools. In order to meet the new measurement requirements, the dual frequency laser interferometer is also developing in the direction of high resolution, high precision and high speed measurement.

With the rapid development of manufacturing industry, the movement speed of precision CNC machine tools has reached several m/s, and it is required to reach 10 m/s for special applications. At present, the measurement speed of single frequency laser has not exceeded 5 m/s. The speed measurement of birefringence Zeeman dual frequency laser interferometer is also at this level, but its frequency difference experiment has reached tens of MHz, which needs the follow-up development of signal processing technology to achieve a measurement speed of more than 10 m/s.

Source: Guangzhou Huanyang market consulting