What is driving the rising revenues of GaN and GaAs markets
What is driving the rising revenues of GaN and GaAs markets
Yole Développement (Yole) delivers its latest Compound Semiconductor Quarterly Market Monitor that brings unique insight to what is driving the steadily rising revenues of powerGaN, RF GaN and RF GaAs markets.
Aim of the Compound Semiconductor Quarterly Market Monitor is to provide an in-depthcoverage of rapidly changing market dynamics and main players’ status andstrategy. The market research and strategy consulting company is publishing itsanalysis every beginning of March (Q1), June (Q2), September (Q3) and December(Q4), with two modules:
- Module I: GaN and SiC for power electronics applications
- Module II: GaAs and GaN for RF electronics applications
Today, the Compound Semiconductor team invites you to explore a snapshotof this industry, with the Q2 2021 results.
Be it power GaN, RF GaN or RF GaAs markets, buoyant times lie ahead thanksto the ever-growing telecoms and smartphone markets, always-steady defensesector and emerging automotive applications, reports Yole in its latestCompound Semiconductor Quarterly Market Monitor.
“GaN power device revenue is forecast to grow from lessthan 50 million in 2020 to more than 1 billion by 2026 while the RF GaNmarket can also expect significant growth from 891 million to more than 2.5billion in the same time-frame” writes Ezgi Dogmus, Team Lead Analyst at Yole. “Meanwhile, the RF GaAs baredie market is set to nudge
But as new entrants jostle for attention in the power GaN market andadditional capacity is rolled out for the RF GaN sector can the tried-and-testedRF GaAs segment hold onto its ample market lead?
Power GaN applications
Without a doubt, the market for power GaN applications remains buoyant.Following a dip in quarterly revenue growth from 2019 to 2020, revenues havebeen steadily rising from Q2 2020 with many industry players making the most ofthe market revival.
射频前端产业观察：从数据来看, GaN市场需求不是很好，是非常非常好。
As early as 2018, Ireland-based GaN semiconductor developer, NavitasSemiconductor was using GaN ICs in its GaNFast smartphone fast chargers andsince the end of 2020, many more industry players have followed this lead. Forits part, Navitas recently joined forces with Live Oak Acquisition Corp, US, togo public in a SPAC deal valued at $1.04 billion.
“This critical industry development follows in thefootsteps of US-based business, Transphorm, which went public in 2020,” comments Ahmed Ben Slimane, Technology & MarketAnalyst from Yole. And he adds: “And now Navitas is rampingfast GaN charger shipments to the likes of Dell, Lenovo, LG and Xiaomi andmore. “
The company also intends to extend its portfolio from fast chargers todatacoms, telecoms, e-mobility, industrial, energy and other applications,signalling strong market confidence.
In another positive move, US-based power IC business, Power Integrations,recently released the MinE-CAP IC for high power density AC-DC converters,adopted in the new Anker Nano II fast charger model. Targeting compact chargersand adapters, the IC shrinks the volume of AC-DC converters by up to 40%,raises efficiency, and importantly, increases the dollar content of GaN indevices, factors that can only help to raise Power Integration’s GaN marketshare.
STMicroelectronics is also extending its reach into the power GaN market.After acquiring majority stakes of France’s GaN-on-silicon power device player,Exagan, in 2020 and partnered with the Taiwanese giant TSMC, the French-Italiansemiconductor manufacturer has released integrated GaN devices and is targetingconsumer and automotive applications. In a further development, the company hasteamed up with the Renault Group to develop GaN and SiC power semiconductorsfor electric and hybrid vehicles.
Along the way, EPC, Transphorm, GaN Systems and Infineon have all haddesign wins for telecoms and datacoms markets, with EPC also deliveringradiation hardened GaN devices for demanding space applications. And playerssuch as Transphorm, EPC, Texas Instruments and GaN systems qualified their GaNFETs for automotive markets.
Given the abundance of industry developments, the power GaN market isclearly on track for further growth. And while both Navitas and PowerIntegrations currently represent more than 50% of the total GaN power devicemarket, expect change as more players enter the market.
A case in points is China’s Innoscience. With its 8 inch GaN-on-siliconfab, the integrated device manufacturer currently has a capacity of 4,000wafers per month but intends to drastically increase this figure to some 65000wafers per month in the coming years, after its new Suzhou facility completed –yet another sign that the power GaN market is only set to grow.
Growth for RF GaN
As the RF GaN market continues to gather momentum, 5G telecoms andinfrastructure remains a key driver for this market with high power, highbandwidth GaN components having penetrated base stations, remote radio headsand MIMO active antenna systems. Indeed, Yole estimates this market segment toexceed $1billion by 2026, representing 42% of the entire market.
At the same time, the defense sector also continues to drive growth withapplications expected to represent up to 48% of the entire market by 2026. GaNis being more widely used in lightweight transmit/receive modules for AESAradar airborne systems and is also deployed in fixed satellite communications.
Emerging applications include handsets and mobile satellitecommunications. Difficult GaN qualification may hinder the technology’sadoption in satellite communications, but this could change. For example, theEuropean Space Agency is currently working with partners such as Airbus todevelop GaN power amplifiers for antennae; and projects such as this willpromote the adoption of GaN in space applications.
Still, the billion-dollar question for many in the RF GaN market is whenwill the technology truly find its way into consumer mobile handsets?
“Two years ago STMicroelectronics revealed it was workingon GaN-on-silicon-based power amplifiers for handsets, and now a further majorindustry player has expressed similar interests,” explains Poshun Chiu, Technology & Market Analystat Yole. “Given these market movements, Yole expects to see GaN poweramplifiers being adopted in mobile and consumer applications from 2022.”
Technology choices
“From word go, GaN-on-SiC has been the leading light inthe RF GaN industry, having launched more than 20 years ago and now rivallingLDMOS and GaAs in RF power applications,” asserts Selsabil Sejil, Technology & MarketAnalyst, part of the Compound Semiconductor & Emerging substrates team atYole. “Indeed, our figures indicate GaN-on-SiC will grow from US
Promising market developments are afoot. For example, foundries, includingGaAs and GaN-on-SiC producer, WIN Semiconductors of Taiwan, are expandingcapacity to meet market demand.
Also, NXP Dutch-American semiconductor manufacturer as well as industrypartners, US-based II-VI Advanced Materials and Japanese Sumitomo ElectricDevice Innovations, are building 6-inch GaN-on-SiC facilities in the US. IndeedII-VI and Sumitomo are set to churn out wafers for 5G base stations later thisyear. Critically, each new fab also opens the door to the all-importanttransition from 4- to 6-inch wafer fabrication, with the economies of scalethis will bring.
Still, as GaN-on-SiC streaks ahead, less established but low cost andscalable GaN-on-silicon looks set to rapidly win market share. Yole predictsGaN-on-silicon will grow from less than US5 million in 2020 to US173 millionin 2026, with a 86% CAGR.
In the last few years, US-based Macom teamed up with STMicroelectronics todevelop the technology for telecom OEMs while France-based foundry, OMMIC,offers GaN-on-silicon processes for mm-wave applications. And in apromising industry development, Raytheon has recently joined forces withGlobalFoundries to develop and commercialize GaN-on-silicon semiconductors for5G and 6G mobile and wireless infrastructure in defense, and future telecom andhandset applications. There are also many foundries looking into GaN-on-Sitechnology for RF applications, as new business opportunities emerge inconsumer mobile applications.
RF GaAs holds on
What about RF GaAs? Despite facing competition to GaN and SiGe in highpower and high frequency applications, such as telecom and infrastructure, RF GaAs currently holds the largest market share by quite a margin – and thisfigure is set to grow.
With the launch of Apple’s iPhone 12 handsets to support 5G in 2020, thedemand for GaAs is on the rise again, with the industry’s tried-and-testedcompound semiconductor being a key building block in power amplifiers forsub-6GHz band. Along with the factor in the launch of WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E,handset connectivity from smartphone manufacturers keeps driving the demands ofRF GaAs. Yole predicts RF GaAs market share will edge towards a mighty $4billion from now until 2023. However, in telecom and infrastructure, GaAs ispredicted to lose some of this market share to competing technologies such asGaN and SiGe.
射频前端产业观察：从右边纵轴的增长率来看， GaAs的市场缺乏突破性增长。
While GaAs will largely rely on handsets to drive growth, the gradualdeployment of the automotive connectivity, C-V2X, technology will require moreRF GaAs devices, and could counter any market losses to competing technologies.For example, a GaAs HBT power amplifier from US-based semiconductormanufacturer, Qorvo, has been designed into a cellular V2X reference designfrom Qualcomm Technologies, US.
Alongside rising RF GaAs demand, GaAs wafer manufacturing capacitiescontinue to increase. In addition to expansions from WIN Semiconductor,Taiwan’s pure 6-inch GaAs foundry, AWSC, intends to raise capacities from12,000 wafers a month to 20,000 wafers a month by the end of this year. Also,GaAs epitaxy player, VPEC, is expanding capacity and adding more MOCVD systemsto its facility. At wafer level, Germany-based Freiberger Compound Materialsrecently acquired a fab to expand GaAs wafer manufacturing for both RF andoptoelectronics.
Yole’s Compound Semiconductor team will publish Compound Semiconductor Quarterly Market Monitor ModuleIII, including GaAs and InP for optoelectronic applications in Q3-2021.
About the Compound Semiconductor & EmergingSubstrates team
Ahmed Ben Slimane, PhD. is a Technology & MarketAnalyst, specialized in Compound Semiconductors and Emerging Substrates at Yole(Yole).
As part of the Power & Wireless team, Ahmed is contributing to thedevelopment of dedicated collection of compound semiconductors market &technology reports and monitor. Previously, he worked as an epitaxy (MBE/MOCVD)& fabrication process engineer for GaAs-based photovoltaic applications atTOTAL and IPVF (Paris-Saclay, France). Ahmed also completed his PhD in MaterialEngineering from KAUST (Saudi Arabia), where his mission was focused onGaN-based microstructures for flexible solid-state lighting.
During his career, Ahmed has presented work in front of an internationalaudience. He has authored/co-authored more than 20 publications in thesemiconductor field and submitted a patent on the III-V hetero-structure forthe PV industry. Ahmed obtained his master’s degree in electronic engineeringfrom INPG (Grenoble, FR).
Ezgi Dogmus, PhD. is Team Lead Analyst in CompoundSemiconductor & Emerging Substrates activity within the Power &Wireless Division at Yole (Yole).
She is managing the expansion of the technical expertise and the marketknow-how of the company.
In addition, Ezgi actively assists and supports the development ofdedicated collection of market & technology reports, monitor as well ascustom consulting projects.
Prior to Yole, Ezgi worked as a process development engineer for GaN-basedRF and power solutions at IEMN (Lille, France). After graduating fromUniversity of Augsburg (Germany) and Grenoble Institute of Technology (France),Ezgi received her PhD. in Microelectronics at IEMN (France).
Poshun Chiu is a Technology & Market Analystspecializing in Compound Semiconductor and Emerging Substrates at Yole (Yole).As a member of the Power Electronics & Wireless division at Yole, Poshunfocuses on power, RF, and opto-electronics. He is engaged in the development oftechnology and market reports and is also involved in custom projects.
Before joining Yole, Poshun had 9 years’ experience in R&D and productmanagement at Epistar (TW & CHN). He is the author or co-author of morethan 10 patents in solid-state-lighting. Poshun was also engaged in thedevelopment and evaluation of novel applications of process technology and componentsbased on relevant semiconductor material systems
Poshun received an MSc degree in Microelectronics from National Cheng KungUniversity (TW) and an MBA from IESEG School of Business (FR).
Selsabil Sejil, PhD. is a Technology & MarketAnalyst, specialized in Compound Semiconductors and Emerging Substrates at Yole(Yole). As part of the Power & Wireless team, Selsabil iscontributing to the development of dedicated collection of compoundsemiconductors market & technology reports and monitor.
Previously, she worked as an Integration Engineer for SOI products atSOITEC (Grenoble, France). She also worked in CEA as a process developmentengineer for 5G applications.
Selsabil obtained her PhD. in Material Science from Claude BernardUniversity (Lyon, France) in collaboration with STMicroelectronics (Tours,France), where her works explored and optimized all the facets of the completemanufacturing of power electronic devices, with a focus on the optimization ofSiC epitaxy.During her career, Selsabil SEJIL authored/co-authored more than 8publications in the semiconductor field.
Selsabil was graduated from University Paris Sud with a master’s degree inNanoSciences (Orsay, France).
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