Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) Antenna Market Size (2024 - 2029)

Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) Market Analysis

The Laser Direct Structuring Antenna Market size is estimated at USD 0.78 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 1.71 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 16.94% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

• With the miniaturization trend gaining prominence across various industries, the LDS market is gaining popularity. LDS technology allows smaller designs with integrated functionalities. Modern electronics have brought several difficulties for manufacturers. However, the introduction of the LDS antenna technology offers an effective way to overcome these challenges by offering a high degree of freedom in terms of metallization shape, thus, allowing improved radiation performance.
• The convergence of digital-based audio, video, and information technology is changing the shape of the consumer electronics industry, creating a whole new world of electronic gadgets that can grab consumers' attention. The consumer-spending trend is a leading economic indicator in the consumer electronics industry, strongly correlated with economic growth.
• Technological advancements are bringing convergence of computer, communication, and consumer electronics, auguring well for the industry, with many new opportunities for product innovations, with miniaturization. The trend towards miniaturization in the consumer electronics industry has driven package component sizes down to the design-rule level of early technologies.
• Specifically, smartphones have observed a robust uptake of this technology, nearly doubling production volumes over the past decade. Apart from this, the rising adoption of smart devices, wearables, and connected medical equipment, innovations in the modern medical sciences across the world has bought a massive advancement into the global healthcare offerings as most consumers are now leveraging the advantages offered by smart medical devices to address critical health needs.
• Furthermore, the electronics segment in the military and defense industry also presents potential opportunities for the LDS antenna market, buoyed by the rising number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), global positioning system/global navigation satellite system (GPS/GNSS) navigation, and conformal communication antennas, among others.
• According to Teal Group, approximately 95% of the 28,912 UAVs projected to be developed between 2013 and 2027 will be employed for military purposes. UAV operations are becoming well-embedded in the armed forces worldwide, affecting global security. Aiding this trend, players, such as TE Connectivity, are focused on delivering lighter, smaller antennas that can sustain in harsh environments in the aerospace and defense sector.
• However, the market growth is expected to be hindered by the high equipment costs, need for high temperature-resistant materials, long plating process, and complexity in procedure due to thin metallization layers and beads of the laser structuring process.
• COVID-19 adversely affected manufacturing operations in numerous industries where LDS technology has a wide range of antenna uses. The sales, as well as production of smartphone and pad devices, laptop and notebook computers, vehicle tracking systems, gaming consoles, inventory tracking systems, wireless printers, and routers, UAVs, etc., were all affected by restrictions on logistics and the availability of the workforce.

Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) Industry Segmentation

Laser direct structuring (LDS) is a process where an antenna design can be directly transferred onto the 3D surface of an injection-molded structure through a laser beam's operation, making prototyping and production processes much more efficient. The LDS process enables flexibility and freedom in 3D design for prototyping, providing quick turn-around and verification during various project phases.

The laser direct structuring (LDS) antenna market is segmented by end-user industry (healthcare, consumer electronics, automotive, networking, and other end-user industries) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa).

The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of value in USD million for all the above segments.