Surface science encompasses a number of technology platforms that can broadly be termed microscopes; they provide imaging and analysis of microscopic features of samples. Market demand reached $5 billion in 2011, and sales growth for the coming year is forecast at 6.7% for the surface science sector.

The largest individual technology segment is optical microscopy, which makes up nearly half of the total surface science market. Although this technique has existed for centuries, the technology continues to evolve as new methods of illumination, molecular tagging and fluorescence advance it, particularly for life science applications. While the bulk of the optical microscope market is for relatively standard systems that offer modest opportunities for growth, these newer techniques stimulate growth, bringing the average growth for the sector up to a respectable 4.8%. Nevertheless, this growth represents the slowest growth among the different technology segments within the surface science market.

The fastest growth in the surface science market will come from sales of confocal microscopes. Confocal microscopy is also an optical technique but distinct enough that it merits separate consideration. Like optical microscopy, confocal microscopy is benefitting from advances that help push the technology forward. But since this market is already primarily research oriented, overall growth in the segment is much greater, approaching 10% in 2012. Confocal microscopy remains, however, the smallest individual technology segment in the surface science market, with total market demand of about $200 million in 2011.

After optical microscopy, electron microscopy is the next largest technology segment, making up more than a third of the total revenues for surface science instrumentation. This market shows continued strength, with product portfolios broadening, as high-end systems allow greater imaging and analytical performance and lower-end desktop electron microscopes begin to gain acceptance in the marketplace as easy-to-use adjuncts to optical microscopes. Total demand for electron microscopes will approach $1.9 billion in 2012, reflecting growth of 8.5% for the year.

Still stronger growth is forecast for surface analyzers, which comprise several techniques that use varied types of beam probes and detection methods to analyze surfaces. Sales of these instruments are forecast to grow 9% in 2012, with strong demand from academic, government and materials science laboratories. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is the remaining product segment within the surface science market. With 2011 revenues of $300 million, sales growth is forecast at 7.6% in 2012. Although the technology continues to be a font of creative new uses and research, growth in new industrial applications remains a challenge.

Due to the fact that optical and electron microscopy make up more than 80% of the surface science market, vendors in these two areas dominate the marketplace. Carl Zeiss and Leica Microsystems, a unit of Danaher, are involved in both of these areas and hold the second and third positions in vendor share. Carl Zeiss has recently reorganized its divisions to combine these two businesses (see IBO 12/15/11), reflecting the increasing overlap of these previously quite distinct markets.

However, the largest vendor in surface science is Olympus, which is the dominant vendor in optical microscopy and also competes in confocal microscopy and SPM. FEI and JEOL are leading companies in the electron microscopy business. JEOL also is a prominent vendor of surface analysis systems. The smaller markets, such as surface analyzers and SPM, tend to be dominated by more focused suppliers, like Ulvac-PHI and NT-MDT. However, the SPM market is now led by Bruker due to its acquisition of Veeco Instruments (see IBO 8/31/10).

 Surface Science Instrumentation 2011–2012

                            2011 Market Share            2012 Growth Rate

 Optical Microscopy             48.3%                          4.8%

 Electron Microscopy            34.9%                          8.5%

 Surface Analyzers               6.9%                          9.0%

 Scanning Probe Microscopy       6.0%                          7.6%

 Confocal Microscopy             3.9%                          9.7%

 Total                         100.0%                          6.7%

 Surface Science Instrumentation Market Leaders

 Optical Microscopy                 Olympus, Danaher

 Electron Microscopy                FEI, Hitachi High-Technologies

 Surface Analyzers                  Ulvac-PHI, AMETEK 

 Scanning Probe Microscopy          Bruker, NT-MDT

 Confocal Microscopy                Carl Zeiss, Danaher

 Pie Chart: 2011 Surface Science Instrumentation Market by Product Type

 Initial Systems    65%

 Aftermarket        22%

 Service            13%

 Bar Graph: 2010–2013 Total Surface Science Instrumentation Market

                  2010      2011      2012      2013

 $ Millions      4,622     5,007     5,344     5,653

 Pie Chart: 2011 Surface Science Instrumentation Suppliers’ Market Shares

 Olympus        12%

 Carl Zeiss     11%

 Danaher         9%

 FEI             8%

 JEOL            8%

 Other          52%