Optical Coating Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Anti-reflective Coating, Reflective Coatings, Filter Coatings, Conductive Coatings, Electrochromic Coatings), By Application, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030

Report Overview

The global optical coating market size was valued at USD 17.0 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 9.2% from 2022 to 2030. Recent technological advancements in the field of optical deposition techniques and fabrication coupled with rising demand for efficient optical devices in end-use applications are expected to drive the market over the forecast period. Optical coatings are being increasingly used in numerous applications including architecture, consumer electronics, solar panels, automotive, medical, telecommunication, and military and defense.

The rapid growth of the solar PV market, driven by the increasing focus on the generation of clean energy, and rising demand for consumer electronics is expected to fuel the market growth over the forecast period. Reflective coatings are mainly used in construction, telecommunication, and space applications. The growing use of reflective coatings in green buildings for heat retention and reducing energy consumption is expected to drive its demand over the forecast period. In addition, increasing usage of handheld consoles, coupled with rising demand for portable consumer electronics, is expected to propel market growth over the forecast period.

Price volatility of raw materials is one of the major factors affecting the prices of optical coatings. It leads to a decrease in profitability for manufacturers and increases the market costs of optical coatings, thus restraining market growth. Although prices of metals have witnessed a declining trend over the past few years, sudden variations in prices can lead to a negative impact, thus affecting the market growth.

Changes in the price of precious metals used for high-end applications, especially gold and platinum, significantly affect the overall cost of the application, thus impacting the demand for optical coatings. Furthermore, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 is hampering the demand for optical coatings in various applications including automotive, telecommunication, solar, aerospace and defense, architecture, and others owing to the stalled manufacturing activities, restrictions in supply, and transportation, and economic slowdown across the globe.

Product Insights

The anti-reflective product segment led the market and accounted for a revenue share of more than 29.0% in 2021. Anti-reflective coatings are thin-film optical coatings that consist of multiple layers of coatings with different refractive indexes between each layer. The thickness of every layer is designed to cause self-extinguishing interference for light beams reflected by the surface. This makes it suitable for magnifying lenses, display screens, camera lenses, and eyeglasses wherein they are used on glass and plastic substrates.

Growing demand for anti-reflective coatings for the construction of photovoltaic solar panels, automotive displays, windows, and GPS navigation systems is expected to propel the growth of the market over the forecast period. The conductive coatings product segment is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period owing to the large-scale usage of solar panels. Rising emphasis on the development of alternate energy sources, coupled with huge investments in solar energy generation by countries such as India, the U.S., and China, is likely to propel the growth in the coming years. Furthermore, increased usage in display windows, solar panels, heaters, LCD fabrication, heads-up display, shielding for radio frequency interference, LED displays, and instrument display windows are anticipated to support market growth over the forecast period.

Application Insights

The consumer electronics application segment led the market and accounted for a revenue share of more than 31.0% in 2021. Rapidly growing demand for smartphones and rising consumer disposable income are factors anticipated to propel the segment growth over the forecast period. Furthermore, technological advancements in the field of smart televisions and smart consumer devices, including smartwatches and smartphones, are anticipated to positively affect the market over the forecast period. In addition, increased demand for multipurpose devices and the growing number of key players are expected to propel the demand for optical coatings over the forecast period

Infrared and anti-reflective coatings are widely used in the electronics industry owing to the rising demand for superior optical display and impact resistance properties. The growing semiconductor industry, coupled with technological advancements, is expected to augment the demand for these optical coatings over the forecast period. However, reducing discretionary spending aimed at COVID-19 across the globe is impacting the demand for consumer electronics products. This in turn is further anticipated to hamper the demand for optical coatings in consumer electronics products. In the automotive industry, it is used in speedometer displays owing to its high impact resistance and abrasion resistance. The rising use of optical coatings in numerous automobile components including gear knob tops, car windows, windshields, and headlight lenses is anticipated to drive the growth of the market over the forecast period. In addition, UV-resistant and abrasion-resistant coatings are used for components in the automobile industry.

Regional Insights

North America dominated the optical coatings market and accounted for a revenue share of more than 37.0% in 2021. The growing solar industry in U.S. and focus on developing domestic industries are driving the demand in this region. An increase in the U.S. defense budget is creating a strong growth potential for reflective coating products in the aerospace and defense segment. North America is a major manufacturing hub for mid-scale and small-scale medical equipment companies, which is expected to propel the demand for optical coatings over the forecast period. In addition, the strong presence of industries like instrumentation, microelectronics, biotechnology, and software development and advancements in the medical devices sector will ultimately lead to increased demand for optical coatings over the forecast period. 

In addition, the constantly rising patient population, on account of the outbreak of COVID-19 at the community level, is projected to propel the demand for medical components, thereby boosting the demand for optical coatings in the U.S. In the Asia Pacific, the market is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. The rising youth population and the growing demand for consumer electronic products such as mobiles, tablets, cameras, LED screens, video games consoles, and personal computers, are expected to drive the regional market over the forecast period.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Most of the key players operating in the market have integrated their raw material production and distribution operations to maintain product quality and expand regional outreach. This provides companies a competitive advantage in the form of cost benefits, thus increasing their profit margin. Companies focus on research and development activities to develop new products to sustain market competition and changing end-user requirements. Research activities focused on new materials that combine several properties are projected to gain wide acceptance in the industry in the coming years. Some of the prominent players in the optical coating market include:

• Alluxa, Inc.

• Cascade Optical Corporation

• Chroma Technology Corp.

• Inrad Optics

• Optical Coatings Japan

• PPG Industries Inc.

• Viavi Solutions

• Schott AG

• Abrisa Technologies

• Berliner Glas

Recent Developments

• In October 2022, Schott AG and Edmund® Optics extended their partnership to provide designers an easy access to thin coated optical filter glass with reduced lead times

• In June 2022, PPG Industries Inc. and Meta Materials announced their collaboration to create multi-functional, lightweight, and high-index smart lenses for eyewear, thus a major contribution in the market of optical coating

• In January 2022, Alluxa Inc. introduced a groundbreaking capability in extending the optical range performance with next-generation SIRRUS plasma physical vapor deposition (PVD) platform for optical filters

Optical Coating Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue and volume growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2019 to 2030. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global optical coating market report on the basis of product, application, and region:

• Product Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • Anti-Reflective Coatings

  • Reflective Coatings

  • Filter Coatings

  • Conductive Coatings

  • Electrochromic Coatings

  • Others

• Application Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • Consumer Electronics

  • Solar

  • Medical

  • Architecture

  • Aerospace & Defense

  • Automotive

  • Telecommunication

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • U.K.

    • Spain

    • Netherlands

    • Poland

    • Norway

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • Singapore

    • Malaysia

    • Indonesia

    • Australia

    • South Korea

    • Thailand

    • New Zealand

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

    • Argentina

    • Columbia

  • Middle East & Africa

    • Saudi Arabia

    • South Africa

    • UAE

    • Qatar

    • Egypt