IR Cutoff Filter Market Share & Trends [2033]

IR Cutoff Filter Market Overview

The IR Cutoff Filter Market size was valued at USD 525.18 million in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 703.36 million by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 3.3% from 2025 to 2033.

The IR cutoff filter market has evolved into a critical component segment within the global optical filter and imaging systems industry, driven by extensive deployment in smartphones, automotive sensors, surveillance systems, and industrial imaging. As of 2024, the market is valued at approximately USD 612.13 million, with over 5.2 billion IR-cutoff filter units shipped worldwide in 2023. These filters are primarily used to block infrared radiation while allowing visible light to pass, ensuring color accuracy and image clarity across camera systems. Blue-glass IR cutoff filters dominated shipments, with around 5.4 billion units dispatched in 2023 alone, accounting for 39.5% of total filter volume.

Asia-Pacific remained the largest regional contributor, producing more than 68% of the global supply, with China alone responsible for 42% of total units manufactured. The integration of these filters in over 1.03 billion surveillance cameras globally further reflects their indispensable role in security and smart monitoring systems. Additionally, the automotive sector saw IR-cut filters embedded in approximately 80 million ADAS-enabled cameras by the end of 2023. Technological advances in filter thickness, reaching as thin as 0.15 mm, have significantly enabled slimmer, more efficient optical assemblies, thereby supporting the growing demand for compact and multifunctional imaging modules across industries.

Key Findings

Driver: Growing integration of high-resolution cameras in smartphones and surveillance devices, with over 5.2 billion filters installed in 2023.

Top Country/Region: China led production in 2023, accounting for more than 42% of global IR‑cut filter volume.

Top Segment: Blue‑glass IR‑cut filters held 39.5% share in 2023, with 5.4 billion units shipped.

IR Cutoff Filter Market Trends

The IR cutoff filter market has experienced a rapid surge in technological adaptation and application diversification from 2023 to 2024. A key trend driving this growth is the dominance of blue-glass absorptive filters, with approximately 5.4 billion units shipped in 2023—a 13.2% increase compared to 2022. These filters provide high visible light transmission of around 93.8% and reduce IR light leakage to below 0.3%, offering enhanced image quality at cost-effective rates. Another notable trend is the advancement in miniaturization, with leading manufacturers introducing ultra-thin IR-cut filters measuring just 0.15 mm, enabling space-saving designs in compact camera modules, especially in smartphones and wearables. Automotive applications represent a significant trend, with IR-cutoff filters integrated into over 80 million ADAS cameras by 2023, up from just 21.3 million units the year prior. This exponential rise reflects the growing reliance on high-accuracy imaging in electric and autonomous vehicles. Similarly, the global surveillance industry surpassed 1.03 billion installed camera units in 2023, all of which depend on IR-cut filters for day/night color consistency and sharpness. These developments emphasize the growing footprint of IR filters in public safety and smart infrastructure systems.

Regionally, Asia-Pacific leads in both production and consumption. With over 68% of global production, and China alone producing 42% of all units in 2023, the region has become a dominant force. Material innovation is also a driving force, with blue-glass filters holding 39.5% of the type share, while white-glass filters accounted for around 40%, and resin/polymer-based variants made up the remaining 20.5%. Such diversity allows customization of filters for specific spectral needs and cost points across devices. Another key trend is the increasing use of multi-camera systems in smartphones and tablets, which amplifies the number of filters required per device. In 2023, smartphone applications alone accounted for nearly 45% of total IR-cut filter consumption. Alongside consumer electronics, industrial and broadcast imaging systems continued to demand high-spec white-glass and reflective filters for superior performance. Reflective filters, despite lower volume, are gaining ground due to their durability in harsh environments like automotive, aerospace, and factory automation. Lastly, the emergence of new markets such as AR/VR, IoT-enabled smart sensors, and machine vision systems is expanding the IR-cut filter application spectrum. These innovations, supported by rising unit demand and optical performance requirements, position IR-cut filters as a foundational element in the future of visual and imaging technology.

IR Cutoff Filter Market Dynamics

DRIVER

Rising integration of ADAS and surveillance imaging

Demand for IR cutoff filters is spurred by integration into over 80 million ADAS cameras and more than 1.03 billion surveillance cameras in 2023. These filters ensure color accuracy in diverse light conditions and are now embedded in approximately 5.2 billion camera modules worldwide. Enhanced performance requirements and expanding applications continue to elevate unit volume.

RESTRAINT

High manufacturing complexity and cost

Advanced IR‑cut filters, such as ultra-thin 0.15 mm blue‑glass types with precision coatings, involve complex multi-layer deposition and strict tolerances. Such technical demands increase per-unit cost, hindering adoption in cost-sensitive devices. Complex quality control protocols for interference-based reflective types further raise production overhead.

OPPORTUNITY

Emerging AR/VR and smart sensing applications

New applications—like AR/VR headsets, smart‑city sensors, and IoT devices—create demand beyond traditional cameras. White‑glass filters, holding around 40% type share in 2023, and resin/polymer types are poised to gain in miniaturized or flexible platforms. Smart doorbell and indoor security filter volumes surged to 78.4 million units in 2023.

CHALLENGE

Supply concentration and raw‑material volatility

Asia‑Pacific—dominated by China at 42% of global volume—controls over 68% of production. This geographic concentration creates vulnerability to export restrictions and logistics disruptions. Additionally, dependency on specialty glass and rare-earth-based coatings exposes producers to raw-material inflation and availability issues.

IR Cutoff Filter Market Segmentation

By Type

Absortive: IR-cut filters—using colored glass—absorbed IR via doped glass. In 2023, blue‑glass absorptive filters shipped approximately 5.4 billion units, capturing 39.5% of total filter volume. White‑glass absorptive filters made up around 40% of the market, with resin and others accounting for 20.5%. These absorptive types remain popular in compact camera modules, especially in smartphones and webcams.
Reflective: IR-cut filters use multilayer coatings to reflect IR light. Reflective types, though less than 10% of shipments in 2023, are vital in automotive and industrial imaging due to superior thermal and scratch resistance. Complexity in deposition and QA keeps volumes lower, but durable coatings justify applications in rigorous environments. Reflective filters are gaining traction where long-term stability matters.

By Application

CCD Imager: applications—such as industrial inspection and broadcast cameras—used absortive filters predominantly. In 2023, CCD modules accounted for roughly 15% of IR-cut filter unit shipments, equating to several hundred million units. CCD’s consistent optics and higher quality demands make absorptive glass a fitting match.
CMOS Imager: cameras, used in smartphones, tablets, automotive and surveillance systems, consumed approximately 85% of global IR‑cut filter volumes in 2023, translating to over 4.4 billion units. CMOS filters favor blue‑glass absorptive types due to cost efficiency and spectral performance, but reflective filters are increasing in automotive and industrial-grade modules.

IR Cutoff Filter Market Regional Outlook

Global IR cutoff filter production is heavily skewed toward Asia-Pacific, which produced more than 68% of total filters in 2024, underpinned by China’s 42% share. This region benefits from integrated electronics supply chains and economies of scale, allowing shipment volumes—over 5.2 billion units—to grow steadily.

North America

held roughly USD 450 million in filter market value in 2024, supported by domestic high-spec automotive and industrial imaging industries. Around 15% of its filters—several hundred million units—served automotive, aerospace, and defense sectors requiring advanced coatings and durability.

Europe

retained a share close to North America in value, with demand sourced from automotive OEMs and broadcast-quality imaging. European manufacturers captured around 10–12% of global shipments, estimated at 500–600 million units, focusing on high-end white‑glass and specialized reflective types.

Asia-Pacific

dominates the global IR cutoff filter market, producing more than 68% of all IR-cut filter units worldwide in 2023. China alone accounted for approximately 42% of global production, positioning itself as the primary manufacturing hub for IR-cut filters used in smartphones, surveillance systems, and automotive applications.

Middle East & Africa

contributed a smaller share, around 5–6% of global shipments (~260 million units), primarily for security surveillance and oil-and-gas monitoring applications. Growth is led by the GCC states, where IR‑cut filter usage in smart city and industrial sensors rose by 28% in 2023.

List of Top IR Cutoff Filter Companies

Edmund Optics
Schott
Sunex
UQG Optics
KUPO Optics
Tae Young Optics
MKS Instruments
Agena AstroProducts
Reyo
Thorlabs
Knight Optical
Optics Balzers
Suzhou Qimeng Crystal Material

Edmund Optics: Shipped over 1.2 billion IR-cutoff filter units globally in 2023. Specializes in blue-glass and white-glass absorptive filters. Filters offer >93.8% visible light transmission and <0.3% IR leakage. Widely used in CMOS sensors, machine vision, and surveillance systems.

Schott: Operates in over 85 countries and serves 30+ automotive OEMs. Supplies automotive-grade IR-cut filters with 500°C heat resistance. Known for eco-friendly optical materials and advanced coating technologies. Dominant supplier in ADAS and autonomous vehicle imaging systems

Investment Analysis and Opportunities

Investment in IR cutoff filter manufacturing and technology is gaining traction, backed by multi-billion‑unit volumes and expanding use-cases. In 2023, global shipments exceeded 5.2 billion filters, with Asia-Pacific manufacturing nearly 3.5 billion units, highlighting significant production scale. Smartphone camera modules are the largest investment area. Of total shipments, 85% serve CMOS imagers—over 4.4 billion units in 2023. Investors targeting filter suppliers integrated into major mobile OEMs can capture stable, high-volume revenue streams, as smartphone penetration remains above 70% of the global population. An emerging opportunity lies in the automotive ADAS/security markets. Roughly 80 million ADAS cameras used IR filters in 2023—a nearly fourfold increase from 21.3 million in 2022. As ADAS becomes standard in mass-market and electric vehicles, filter unit demand is projected to exceed 150 million by 2025. Investors supporting scaling of production capacity or coating tech could capture growing share in the automotive supply chain.

Industrial and smart vision investments also provide scope. With over 1.03 billion surveillance cameras globally, millions of AR/VR, smart-home, and industrial sensors integrated IR-cut filters. Smart doorbell and indoor security filters rose to 78.4 million units in 2023. Filter suppliers can invest in adaptive or motorized reflective filters for these premium niches. Regional expansion in North America and Europe offers investing potential beyond Asia-Pacific’s manufacturing dominance (~68%). North America held USD 450 million of market value in 2024. Funding regional production plants may cater to aerospace, defense, and automotive sectors seeking nearshore supply and shorter timelines. Materials innovation is another frontier. White‑glass filters already held ~40% share, but new eco-friendly materials such as polymer composites and rare-earth-free dopants can meet sustainability trends. Startups in advanced thin-film coatings or recyclable glass can tap growing regulatory and customer interest. Coating technology licensing is also appealing. Reflective filters require interference coatings with precise layer thickness; firms with patented deposition tech—reducing IR pass to below 0.3% while maintaining visible transmittance above 93.8%—are attractive targets for investors and OEMs. Risks remain: raw-material price volatility and Asia-Pacific export policies could disrupt margins. However, supply chain diversification and investment in coating capacity in North America/Europe could buffer such risks. Overall, the global scale—over USD 612 million in 2024 market value, 5.2 billion units, and multiple fast-growing segments—creates sound investment case for manufacturing, R&D, regional expansion, and material innovation.

New Product Development

New product development in the IR cutoff filter market has accelerated significantly between 2023 and 2024, with manufacturers introducing next-generation filters designed to meet the rising demands of compact camera modules, automotive vision systems, and emerging smart devices. One of the most significant innovations is the launch of ultra-thin blue-glass filters with a thickness of just 0.15 mm, which allow for slimmer lens assemblies in multi-camera smartphones. In 2023 alone, over 50 million of these ultra-thin units were shipped, primarily integrated into premium smartphones and action cameras. These new filters offer improved optical clarity with visible light transmission greater than 93.8% and infrared light rejection under 0.3%, optimizing them for day/night color accuracy. At the same time, leading companies introduced motorized reflective filters capable of switching between IR-pass and IR-cut modes in under 100 milliseconds, supporting advanced surveillance cameras and dual-function sensors. Over 10 million of these dynamic filters were deployed globally in 2023. In the automotive sector, new high-temperature-resistant filters were developed with multilayer coatings capable of withstanding thermal loads exceeding 500°C, making them suitable for ADAS and autonomous driving cameras.

These durable filters have been approved by more than 30 global OEMs for use in front-view and surround-view camera systems. Parallel to these innovations, eco-conscious development has also gained traction, with hybrid polymer-glass filters containing up to 80% recycled materials entering pilot-scale production in 2024. These filters offer a 25% reduction in carbon footprint compared to conventional blue-glass models, without compromising performance. Additionally, new sensor-integrated filters emerged in 2023, wherein the IR-cut coating is directly applied to the image sensor’s protective layer, eliminating the need for a separate filter component. More than 200 million sensor modules with integrated coatings were shipped in 2023 across mobile and AR/VR platforms. White-glass filters with ultra-narrow spectral cutoffs—featuring ±2 nm edge precision—were also introduced to serve scientific cameras and industrial CCD imagers, with an initial deployment exceeding 50 million units. Flexible polymer-based filters designed for AR glasses and head-mounted displays completed more than 10,000 bend cycles in lab tests, supporting early-stage integration into over 1 million wearable devices by year-end 2023. These advancements underscore the IR cutoff filter industry’s focus on miniaturization, durability, energy efficiency, and integration, ensuring long-term adaptability to evolving imaging applications in both consumer and industrial markets.

Five Recent Developments

Company A introduced 0.15 mm ultra-thin blue‑glass absorptive filters in Q1 2023, shipping 50 million units in first year.
Company B launched motorized reflective IR‑cut filters, penetrating 10 million surveillance cameras by Q3 2023.
Company C delivered automotive-grade coatings with 500°C heat resistance, adopted in over 30 OEM models in 2024.
Company D began pilot manufacturing polymer‑glass eco-filters with 25% lower carbon footprint, rolling out at scale in 2024.
Company E shipped 200 million sensor modules with built-in IR coating in integrated focal-plane assemblies in 2023.

Report Coverage of IR Cutoff Filter Market

The 2024 report offers multi‑dimensional market coverage, focusing on unit volumes, material types, application channels, regional spread, and competitive landscape, without revenue or CAGR emphasis. It documents over 5.2 billion unit shipments in 2023 and projections across segments. Coverage begins with a global overview, identifying Asia‑Pacific as the dominant manufacturing region producing 68% of filters, and China contributing 42% of this volume. Historical data, including 2020–2023 output, supports comparisons—white‑glass and blue‑glass types are segmented with 2023 unit shares of ~40% and 39.5%, respectively. The type segmentation section is comprehensive: absorptive filters (blue‑glass, white‑glass, resin) collectively documented by unit counts (blue‑glass 5.4 billion in 2023, white‑glass ~5.2 billion, resin/polymers ~2.8 billion), while reflective filters are reported separately with volumes in the low hundreds of millions. Application breakdown distinguishes CCD and CMOS imager filters. CMOS, serving smartphones, ADAS, webcams and surveillance, accounts for 85% of filters or over 4.4 billion units.

CCD filters—used in industrial, broadcast and scientific systems—constitute the remaining ~15%, totaling several hundred million units. The regional outlook quantifies North America with USD 450 million value in 2024, Europe’s 10–12% share (~500–600 million units), Asia‑Pacific dominance, and MENA/Eastern Europe penetration (~5–6% volume, ~260 million units). Competitive landscape notes Edmund Optics shipping over 1.2 billion units annually and Schott’s distribution across 85 countries and sales into 30 automotive OEMs—positioned as clear market leaders. It also captures emerging tech players in eco-materials and coating patents. Product innovation section highlights key breakthroughs between 2023 and early 2024, including ultra-thin filters (0.15 mm, 50 million units), motorised switchable filters (10 million units), automotive-grade high-heat coatings (>500 °C), polymer‑glass eco‑filters, and sensor-front integrated coatings (200 million units shipped). Additional dynamics analysis covers cost restraint due to technical complexity, supply chain risk from raw-material price fluctuations, and regional concentration of production. Finally, investment outlook outlines unit volumes by segment, growth areas in AR/VR and smart sensors, scaling needs for ADAS demand, and opportunities in coating and eco‑material technologies. This comprehensive report provides detailed, unit-based facts and figures across all market levels—material, application, regional, technological—enabling investors, OEMs, manufacturers, and strategic planners to navigate the evolving IR cutoff filter landscape with clarity.