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From Fiber to Optical Components: The Underlying Industry Logic Behind the Global Surge
5/5/2026 8:19:00 PM
Recently, domestically produced optical fiber has seen a global surge in orders, becoming a prominent highlight in the infrastructure development of the AI era. According to industry data, China's optical fiber production and sales volume increased by over 35% year-on-year in the first quarter, with overseas sales growth exceeding 55%. The price of mainstream products has soared by up to 650%. Leading domestic companies have order backlogs extending into the first quarter of next year, with products exported to over 100 countries and regions. Leveraging its comprehensive industry chain advantage, China's optical fiber sector now accounts for over 60% of global production capacity, becoming an indispensable "stabilizer" in the global supply chain. More importantly, this wave of prosperity is continuing to transmit downstream, directly propelling the optoelectronic components industry into a new upward cycle.
This global surge in orders for Chinese optical fiber is the result of a confluence of three factors: the explosion in AI computing power, accelerated global digital infrastructure construction, and overseas production capacity gaps. This is precisely the fundamental logic behind the simultaneous surge in demand for optoelectronic components. On the demand side, the wave of AI data center construction has driven exponential growth in fiber usage: conventional data centers require only a few thousand kilometers of fiber, whereas current mainstream high-computing data centers now require 5 to 10 times that amount. Concurrently, rapid deployment of digital infrastructure in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and other regions has further amplified global demand. On the supply side, the expansion cycle for overseas preform production is lengthy, taking 18 to 24 months, making a rapid response impossible in the short term. In contrast, China has built the world's most complete industry chain, covering "preform → optical fiber → optical cable." It can complete the delivery from raw materials to finished products in as little as 15 days, thereby rapidly capturing global market share.
The entire process of optical fiber production, transmission, and application relies on the support of optoelectronic components. Preform production requires precision control components; the transmission process requires optical modules and optical chips for signal conversion; and end-application scenarios (data centers, FTTR, industrial interconnection) are inseparable from passive components, precision connectors, and other assemblies. The explosion in optical fiber demand directly drives the simultaneous surge in demand for various types of optoelectronic components.
Comparing the period before and after the order surge, the characteristics of the optoelectronic components industry's upward cycle are now very evident. Previously, the industry faced prolonged issues like underutilized capacity, low prices, and operational difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises. As the fiber order boom continues, the industry exhibits a trend of "rising volumes and prices": leading companies have order backlogs extending into the second quarter of next year, product prices are steadily recovering, and profitability has significantly improved. At the same time, domestic substitution is accelerating-core products like optical chips and passive components are gradually achieving technological breakthroughs, breaking foreign monopolies. The domestic industrial cluster effect is also becoming increasingly prominent; for example, Wuhan's Optics Valley alone has gathered 16,000 related companies, forming a complete industry chain, making optoelectronic components the core sector benefiting from the fiber dividend.
The linkage effect between the optical fiber and optoelectronic components industry chains is significant, forming a synergistic growth chain: "optical fiber → optical module → optical chip → passive component → upstream materials." Specifically, the fiber demand explosion drives the expansion and upgrading of optical modules. 800G optical modules are already in large-scale application, with 1.6T optical modules gradually entering mass delivery. Optical module upgrades, in turn, drive demand for high-speed optical chips, laser transmitters, optical receivers, etc. Furthermore, increased demand for fiber preforms is driving a surge in demand for upstream materials like quartz sand, high-purity germanium, and fiber coatings-these materials are also key raw materials for producing optoelectronic components, further amplifying the industry's growth momentum. In addition, demand for supporting components like passive devices and precision connectors is growing in tandem with the fiber order boom, collectively propelling the optoelectronics industry into a high-quality development stage.
Looking ahead, the upward cycle of the optoelectronic components industry is expected to continue for a considerable period. The tight supply-demand situation for optical fiber is difficult to alleviate in the short term. Global fiber demand is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of over 5% in the next five years. Coupled with the expansion of emerging scenarios like AI and the low-altitude economy, demand for components will be further amplified. In this upward cycle of optoelectronic components driven by AI and the fiber "order explosion," the simultaneous strength of supply and demand, accelerated domestic substitution, and synergistic industry chain growth have become defining features.
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