Digital Storage Oscilloscope Market

Market Overview

The digital storage oscilloscope market size was valued at USD 624.5 million in 2019 and is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period, 2020–2026.

The digital storage oscilloscope market’s most prominent driver is the rapid adoption of digital storage oscilloscope across the globe. Advancements in the consumer electronics segment, coupled with oscilloscopes’ high-speed signal processing ability, drives the market growth in the electronics and semiconductor sector. Additionally, the defense and military segment is also witnessing significant growth with governments increasing investments and allocating budgets to strengthen their military forces, which is driving the global demand for high-bandwidth DSOs for the testing of military devices and warfare.

Emerging ultra-wideband (UWB) communications systems, mmWave technology, Industry 4.0, and RF analysis are driving the demand for highly calibrated and high bandwidth supporting standalone or PC-based DSOs. Manufacturers are largely focusing on hand-held or portable DSOs with a wider touchscreen display. Some are designing DSOs that integrate with mobile phones to enable ease of use owing to the rapid penetration of smartphones and internet connectivity, further propelling the market growth.

Most of the untapped regions — Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa — also offer potential growth opportunities for the digital oscilloscope market. Some of the key players dominating Latin America’s testing equipment market include Agilent Technologies, JDSU, Anritsu, and Rohde & Schwarz. Latin America is focusing on the quality of its products and services. Digital oscilloscopes are expected to dominate the wireless testing market owing to the growing penetration of mobile broadband, especially in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. While almost every country in Latin America has upgraded to the HSPA network, operators are highly investing in the process of improving their wireless capabilities and bandwidth allocations.

Increasing deployments of 3G and 4G, along with massive improvements in 2G, are expected to drive the demand for oscilloscopes in testing variable frequency ranges and broadband connectivity as a part of network upgrades. IT and telecom operators in Latin America are still dealing with the limited availability of spectrum; therefore, deployments of HSPA and LTE are foreseen as possible alternatives to address network issues in the region.

Regional Analysis

Japan and South Korea are Leading Contributors to Asia-Pacific’s Digital Storage Oscilloscope Market

Asia-Pacific is registered to hold about 58–60% of shares in the digital storage oscilloscope market. Rapidly expanding the telecommunication industry in Japan and South Korea provide an impetus to market growth. These countries are home to numerous semiconductor devices and product manufacturers, which drives the adoption of DSOs. Emerging LTE subscriptions and 5G projects are also expected to increase the demand for radiofrequency test equipment, most importantly oscilloscopes. The introduction of 802.11ac wireless networking standard to enable high-speed WLANs to the end-users requires a 5 GHz band. Extensive bandwidth requirement by the 802.11ac technology is further anticipated to bolster market growth.

Oscilloscopes are also highly in demand in Asia’s healthcare sectors and educational institutes to be used as laboratory equipment for analyzing the waveform of electronic signals. In addition to this, Asia-Pacific is also anticipated to create significant opportunities for players in the aerospace industry. This can be attributed to the growing advancements of radiofrequency technology in civil aircraft communications. Ocean-bound regions of some of the Eastern and South-Eastern Asian nations will witness an upsurge in the adoption of UHF DSOs for testing marine VHF radio communications. Some of the recent developments in the market include;

• In January 2020, the Chinese company Siglent introduced four models of the new SDS2000X Plus Digital Oscilloscope Series with a large capacitive touchscreen that supports multi-touch gestures
• In January 2018, Anritsu Corporation of Japan announced the release of upgraded version of its BERTWave MP2110A Sampling Oscilloscope. The model includes three new functions, namely Clock Recovery, PAM4 Analysis, and Jitter Analysis

South America Offers Lucrative Opportunities for the Market Growth

South America remains an untapped market with colossal opportunities for the growth of electronics and equipment. Growing demand from developing electronics markets has called for the amalgamation of new features in signal detectors and frequency analyzers. Regulatory standards within the military and aerospace industries have their signal testing requirements. Therefore, manufacturers in the region have a distinct opportunity to provide accurate digital oscilloscopes to end-users.

There is also an opportunity to make compact and small systems instead of highly complex infrastructures. HF or UHF oscilloscopes are also able to provide high-level RF testing according to the demands in connected cars and autonomous driving, various IoT devices, modular instrumentation, and 5G technologies.

Segmental Analysis

Hardware Segment Holds Over Three Quarter Value Share of the Global Market

By type, the market is bifurcated into hardware and software. The hardware segment accounts for about 75–77% of the market share. The segment is primarily driven by growing demand for a simpler hardware structure of DSO in the electronics and defense sector, resulting in increased productivity of portable or hand-held oscilloscopes. The approach of displaying waveform in mobile phones with the help of android-based DSOs has resulted in greater flexibility and expandability.

The ongoing trends of Android, especially in Asia-Pacific, are channeling the development of powerful and attractive interfaces. Thus, the system’s final cost is reduced since the user can use their daily organizational mobile device as an interface for analyzing waveforms. The incorporation of In-System Programmable (ISP) allows the DSO to target specifically at the system. DSOs with large storage depth enable the system to capture a whole video frame and correctly sample a signal. Embedded processors are becoming increasingly popular along with logic analyzers to examine and debug errors.           

Modularization in instrumentation has enabled the incorporation of advanced inbuilt features in oscilloscopes, such as advanced timing and synchronization. The demand for such digital storage oscilloscopes is increasing in the medical industry. Therefore, using high-speed components and additional facilities can expand the use of DSOs in high-end applications.

Bandwidth Range of 1GHz–16GHz Segment Dominates the Market  

The bandwidth range of 1GHz–16GHz digital storage oscilloscopes dominates the market with an of value of around USD 210.47 million. Consumer electronics is the most prominent end-user of high to ultra-high bandwidth oscilloscopes. Thus, the rise of the global electronics sector, coupled with the integration of technologies such as AI, machine learning, and digitalization, is expected to accelerate the demand for digitizers and DSOs in the design and development of consumer electronic devices.

The bandwidth ranging from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz is preferred in testing newly emerging ultra-wideband (UWB) communications systems. Growth of modern oscilloscopes with better dynamic range, less distortion, higher measurement bandwidths, and automated signal analysis drives the segment growth. Key players across the globe are collaborating with international partners for designing and manufacturing highly accurate ultra-high frequency (UHF) digital storage oscilloscopes to address fast connectivity and data transfer technologies. For instance,

• Fluke introduced a series of hand-held oscilloscopes, the ScopeMeter 190-504 Series II, which provides a measurement bandwidth of 500 MHz and a real-time sample rate. The instrument is capable of testing communications, navigational, and military devices.
• In 2018, Pico Technologies launched its Pico Scope 5000D series of flexible resolution oscilloscopes and mixed-signal oscilloscopes (MSO). The Pico Scope 5000D oscilloscopes feature up to 16 bits of vertical resolution with up to 200 MHz bandwidth to accurately time-correlate analog and digital channels.

Consumer Electronics Segment Holds about 36-37% of the Market Share

The consumer electronics segment holds about 36-37% shares in the global market. Rising demand of electronics and emerging technologies such as 5G and autonomous vehicles drive the segment growth.  Industrialization in Asia-Pacific has positively impacted the manufacturing of consumer electronic devices in the region. China has emerged as one of the leading manufacturers of mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. Consumer electronics manufacturing industries that require tests and measurements are booming in India, Taiwan, Indonesia, and other countries in the APAC region. Therefore, the adoption of DSOs is likely to gain traction in these regions.

Favorable Government Initiatives to Drive the Electronics Segment Growth

The global electronics industry is booming on account of favorable government initiatives and technological developments such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequencies, which is expected to create new opportunities for digital oscilloscope and analyzer players. Product development involves various phases such as R&D, manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and communications test and measurement services; hence, manufacturers are compelled to design highly calibrated and accurate products with reduced error.