- The growing demand and implementation of GaN and SiC in the semiconductor industry is expected to play a big role in the growth of the compound semiconductor market
- Telecommunications application is estimated to be the largest segment in the compound semiconductor market
The compound semiconductor market size is expected to grow from $32 billion to $ 43.4 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 6.3 per cent as per a report by MarketsandMarkets. It also said that increasing use of compound semiconductors in LED applications has boosted the demand for compound semiconductors. The growing demand and implementation of GaN and SiC in the semiconductor industry is expected to play a big role in the growth of the compound semiconductor market.
Increasing use of GaN in LED and RF devices is expected to result in the segment taking the majority of the compound semiconductor market share. GaN is estimated to have the largest market share by value. GaN has been increasingly used in LED, semiconductor power devices, and radiofrequency (RF) devices.
The report adds, “GaN LEDs are used in applications such as general lighting, consumer devices, commercial, and automotive. GaN is mostly used in LED applications owing to its wide-bandgap properties. LED contributes to the largest share of the GaN market. GaN is used to make white LEDs. Increasing demand for GaN LEDs in various applications, such as general lighting, signage, and automobiles, is expected to drive the growth of the GaN market.”
Telecommunications application
As per the report, GaN is also finding importance in RF devices as GaN devices have the ability to combine high RF power output over broad bandwidths at high frequencies. It said that as the industry shifts towards the adoption of 5G networks for >6GHz, band silicon will not be able to meet various requirements of networks as silicon devices operate well below 3GHz. In the higher frequencies being utilized for 5G, like 3.5 GHz, GaN is more efficient than LDMOS/Silicon devices said the report.
The report said that the telecommunications application is estimated to be the largest segment in the compound semiconductor market. The growth of telecommunication applications is mostly driven by the growing demand for RF devices.
APAC to lead
It added, “Rapid advancements in the telecom sector are witnessed by developed and emerging countries across the world. The technological shift from 3G to 4G/LTE and now into 5G has increased the network traffic through mobile devices and resulted in increased network interferences across the communication channels. “
The report said that as the industry is shifting towards the adoption of 5G, RF content used per smartphones is expected to increase. This will lead to the growth of the market in the forecast period. It added that in order to meet all the requirements for 4G and 5G, including saturated and linear efficiency, it becomes necessary to use a power amplifier manufactured with compound semiconductor technology, which is expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period.
APAC is estimated to be the largest market for compound semiconductors during the forecast period said the report. The rapid market penetration of GaN and SiC in power devices, where GaN and SiC devices are increasingly replacing silicon counterparts is rampant across several application segments in APAC. For power devices, the increasing number of GaN and SiC power applications creates big revenue potential in this region. This leads to the attraction of several industry players to mass-commercialise GaN and SiC power devices for several power applications. This further increases the revenue potential of the compound semiconductor market in this region.
