Scanning Electron Microscopes Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Life Science, Nanotechnology), By Region (APAC, North America)- Global Industry Analysis, Share, Growth, Regional Outlook and Forecasts, 2024-2033

The global scanning electron microscopes market size was estimated at USD 3.50 billion in 2023, is expected to surpass around USD 7.94 billion by 2033, and is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.54% during the forecast period of 2024 to 2033.

Key Takeaways:

• The life science segment dominated the overall market with a revenue share of more than 24% in 2023.
• Asia Pacific held the largest revenue share of more than 38% in 2023.

Scanning Electron Microscopes Market Report Scope

Key drivers of the market include increasing demand for nanotechnology-based research and consequent rise in funding. Furthermore, growing product application in the semiconductor, electronics, and pharmaceutical industries is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. In addition, improvements in the resolution power and features like attachment of other devices, such as energy x-ray dispersion spectrometer, are expected to propel market growth over the forecast period.

A key reason for the success of Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEMs) is that they are widely used by small- to medium-scale R&D institutes and pharmaceutical companies. They provide researchers and quality assurance personnel with data regarding surface morphology and properties, such as topography, chemical analysis, fractography, etc. For example, the Zeiss Gemini 500 is a high-resolution Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) that delivers nanoscale imaging from 100 mm diameter wafers down to small pieces. It has excellent resolution and image quality at high and low accelerating voltages.

As nanotechnology has applications in most of the areas of semiconductors, material sciences, and life sciences, which substantially affect the economy of any nation, it promotes government organizations and other corporate enterprises to support the R&D via public funding. The global market is observing higher growth owing to various driving factors, such as it is one of the most vital devices to analyze nanomaterials at the atomic scale in many pharmaceutical industries, medical devices, and numerous industry verticals.

Semiconductor device manufacturing requires microscopes for procedures, such as lithography, coating, failure analysis, and detection. Growth of the semiconductor industry at a rapid pace in nations, such as India and China, owing to the outsourcing of electric equipment manufacturing is a major driver of the SEMs market.

Increasing global focus on R&D for applications, such as neurosciences, material sciences, life sciences, nanotechnology, and semiconductor industry, would increase the adoption rate for advanced and automated microscopes, such as scanning probe microscope, analytical electron microscope, and SEMs. These microscopes provide imaging resolution as high as 0.1 nm, which is necessarily required for these precision manufacturing industries.

These applications are sub-segments of the semiconductor industry, which are recently gaining enormous demand in the market. According to Moore’s law, the semiconductor industry is constantly moving towards the miniaturization of transistor chips. These trends of miniaturization of transistor chips requiring advanced microscopes, such as TEM, SEM, and SPM, for analytical and quality assurance purposes will provide great market potential over the next seven years.

Scanning Electron Microscopes Market Trends

The rise in advancement of nanotechnology is majorly driving the expansion of the scanning electron microscope market. The growing demand for compact, and more efficient devices with lower prices, along with the growing desire for product miniaturization among the consumers has accelerated the development of nanotechnology in a wide range of industries. In addition, the use of electron microscopes allows the development of three-dimensional images in a variety of industries. Manufacturers can choose optimal manufacturing materials based on precise images, ensuring product stability and durability. These factors are expected to fuel the market growth in the forecast period.

The advancement of technology in scanning electron microscopes allows the generation of data in digital form, which speeds up the instrument's operation. Furthermore, it reduces the number of required steps in sample preparation. These factors are anticipated to contribute to the market's overall growth in the forecast period.

However, the market is restricted by high excise taxes and custom duty on medical goods along with the high cost of modern digital electronic microscopes. Furthermore, a scarcity of highly skilled labor resources capable of handling SMEs effectively constitutes a challenge to the market's expansion.

There is a huge potential for scanning electron microscopes in the healthcare domain. The integration of additional devices such as energy x-ray dispersion spectrometer with electron microscopes is expected to increase the resolution power and other features. This is expected to further propel the market growth.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in severe impact over the commercial and economic activity across the globe. This is projected to have a favorable influence on the microscopic software industry for the healthcare, however, it is expected to have a negative impact on the microscopic software industry for the automobile, semiconductor and aerospace industries.

Application Insights

The life science segment dominated the overall market with a revenue share of more than 24% in 2023. The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases leading to increased R&D expenditure and demand for digital microscopes in the fields of life sciences and medicines are some factors attributing to the segment’s large market share. Key application segments analyzed in the industry include life science, material science, nanotechnology, semiconductors, and others.

Material science held the second-largest share in the overall end-use segment. SEM has emerged as one of the prominent characterization instruments for materials sciences. SEMs are used in materials science for quality control, research, and failure analysis. In modern materials science, investigation & research on nanofibers & nanotubes, high mesoporous architecture, temperature superconductors, and alloy strength, significantly depend on the use of SEMs.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific held the largest revenue share of more than 38% in 2023. The regional market is estimated to retain its leading position growing at the fastest CAGR from 2021 to 2028. Rapid growth witnessed in application areas, such as semiconductors, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and nanotechnology, in this region is the key factor driving the market growth.

North America was the second-largest regional market for SEMs in 2023 and accounted for a revenue share of over 34%. The growth was credited to the presence of research and academic institutes and a high number of clinical trials performed in the region. Research-based activities in the life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries are an integral part of the innovation system in North American countries and this is expected to boost the demand for SEMs in the region over the forecast period.

Recent Developments

• In June 2023, Bruker, an American manufacturer of scientific instruments announced remarkable advancements in multi-omic tissue imaging and highly multiplexed spatial proteomics at large fields of view. Moreover, key enhancements were introduced for mass spectrometry imaging MALDI HiPLEX-IHC following a strategic partnership of Bruker’s with AmberGen.
• In July 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific launched Thermo Scientific Phenom Pharos G2 Desktop Field Emission Gun - Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM). This product helped to distinguish the size, shape, and chemical content of a broad  spectrum of nanoparticles at high resolution.
• In December 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., an American supplier of scientific instrumentation, announced the acquisition of PPD, Inc. for USD 17.4 billion. The acquisition of PPD will allow Thermo Fisher to provide a full range of world-class clinical development services, from scientific discovery to analyzing safety, health-care outcomes, efficacy, managing clinical trial logistics, and drug development and manufacturing.

Some of the prominent players in the scanning electron microscope market include:

Bruker Corp.

Danish Micro Engineering (DME)

Thermo Fisher Scientific

Hitachi High Technologies Corp.

JEOL Ltd.

Leica Microsystems

Nanoscience Instruments, Inc.

Nikon Corp.

Olympus Corp.

Carl Zeiss

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2021 to 2033. For this study, Nova one advisor, Inc. has segmented the global scanning electron microscope market.

Applications

• Material Science
• Nanotechnology
• Life Science
• Semiconductors
• Other Applications

By Region

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa (MEA)