Gallium Arsenide or GaAs, a compound of Gallium and Arsenic, is known for its semiconductor properties. The charge carriers among the atoms of GaAs move at a very high speed, which is why GaAs components are widely used in integrated circuits (ICs), field-effect transistors (FETs), and diodes. Also, as there has been an increase in the use of mobile data and cloud services, the demand for GaAs wafers has witnessed steady growth over the past decade. Analysts at Technavio predict that the global GaAs wafer market will record a CAGR close to 13% by 2020.
Top trends in the global GaAs wafer market
Increased demand due to shutdown of 2G networks
With the arrival of 3G and 4G services, the use of 2G mobile networks has drastically declined. In fact, in many countries, 2G networks will be shut down by the end of 2016, which in turn will force 2G users to shift to 3G or 4G services, thereby increasing the adoption of 3G and 4G-enabled devices. The elevated bandwidth required for 3G and 4G devices can easily be provided by GaAs wafers.
Demand for increased wafer size
Using larger-sized GaAs wafers has become a trend in the semiconductor industry. This is because larger GaAs wafers cut manufacturing costs by 20-25%. At present, 150-mm wafers are used to manufacture power amplifiers and ICs. The wafer processing industry is moving towards developing 200-mm GaAs wafers in order to keep up with the biggest source of competition: silicon wafers. This will increase the demand for both GaAs wafers and wafer fabrication equipment by the end of 2020.
Use of GaAs content in smartphones
Another major trend in GaAs manufacturing market is the increased demand for GaAs content by smartphone manufacturers. Rapid obsolescence is a major issue with most smartphones today and has led to high replacement cycles. Since GaAs components can easily accommodate the requirements of 3G and 4G networks, there has been an upward trend in their use in smartphones. Other factors that have fuelled the demand for GaAs wafers in cellular terminals include the requirements of wireless bands, multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) antenna techniques, and carrier aggregation.
Some of the key vendors in the global GaAs wafer market are AWSC, GCS, WIN Semiconductors, Century Epitech, AXT, and Qorvo.
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