A Glance of GaAs Wafer Market

A Glance of GaAs Wafer Market

A Glance of GaAs Wafer Market

According to Mamms Consulting, as one of the most mature compound semiconductors, GaAs is everywhere, and it has become the cornerstone of power amplifiers in every smart phone! In 2018, the GaAs RF business is expected to account for more than 50% of the GaAs wafer market. However, due to the gradual saturation of the mobile phone market and the shrinking chip size, the GaAs RF market has slowed down in the past few years. With the evolution of communication technology from 4G to 5G, we believe that GaAs will still be the mainstream technology in the sub-6 GHz band (Sub-6 GHz), not CMOS technology. This is because GaAs has the high power and high linearity required for carrier aggregation and multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology.

A Glance of GaAs Wafer Market

Chart1 GaAs RF device application

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Glance of GaAs Wafer Market

Chart 2 GaAs substrate shipments (equivalent to 6 inches)

Since 2017, GaAs wafers have been particularly prominent in optoelectronic applications. When Apple introduced the new iPhone X with integrated GaAs lasers (note: 3D sensing and face recognition), it paved the way for the rapid growth of the GaAs optoelectronics market. We expect GaAs wafer shipments for optoelectronic applications to have a CAGR of 37% between 2017 and 2023. A market size of $150 million will be achieved by 2023. GaAs-based red orange (ROY) LEDs and infrared LED applications have also attracted attention. It is expected that the total annual growth rate of shipments of the GaAs LED market will reach 21% between 2017 and 2023, and will account for more than half of GaAs wafer production by 2023.

For the GaAs wafer and epitaxial wafer business, the price of the product needs to be determined according to the size and quality of each application. As a new entrant, optoelectronics will breed new specifications compared to the complete RF and LED wafer and epitaxial wafer business, resulting in significant price versatility.

This report describes the market size and future development of GaAs wafers and epitaxial wafers (RF, optoelectronics, LED, PV). It also describes the growth technologies and main challenges of GaAs wafers and epitaxial wafers.

A Glance of GaAs Wafer Market

Chart 3 Main applications of GaAs wafers and epitaxial wafers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GaAs Photonics: Grasp the current smart phone and lay out the future smart car.

Today, the GaAs wafer and epitaxial wafer market is entering a new era, and optoelectronic technology has become the focus of GaAs applications. Not long ago, GaAs optoelectronics was still a relatively small market, and its main application was the data center. However, since Apple’s iPhone X introduced 3D sensing and face recognition – using GaAs-based VCSELs, GaAs lasers have attracted a lot of attention! In fact, to achieve face recognition, the iPhone X integrates three sensor modules based on GaAs VCSELs:

(1) Proximity sensors for activity/human detection;

(2) Floodlight illuminators for day and night face and eye detection;

(3) A dot matrix projector for face recognition.

With the support and application of 3D sensing technology on the Android platform, we expect the GaAs wafer market to grow at an alarming 58% CAGR between 2017 and 2023!

Furthermore, GaAs optoelectronic applications are not limited to VCSELs, but also include edge emitting lasers (EEL). Both EEL and VCSEL are important sources of automotive laser radar (LiDAR), helping automatic/unmanned vehicles create 3D maps of their surroundings. This will bring an exciting drive to the GaAs optoelectronics market.

With the significant growth in the GaAs optoelectronic wafer market, we expect red-yellow-yellow (ROY) LEDs and infrared LEDs based on GaAs substrates to show strong growth potential. Large display, automotive and horticultural lighting applications are the main market drivers for red LEDs. The GaAs wafer market for red-orange (ROY) LEDs (in US dollars) has a compound annual growth rate of 21% between 2017 and 2023. Similarly, GaAs infrared LEDs applied to blood pressure/glycemic sensors and proximity sensors are also growing.

This report provides a detailed description and analysis of each market segment of GaAs wafers and epitaxial wafers, showing trends in technology and ecosystems.

Manufacturers in the industrial ecosystem are embracing this new era

The significant growth of the GaAs optoelectronics market will provide a wealth of valuable opportunities for wafers, epitaxial wafers and MOCVD equipment suppliers as well as investors!

In the supply of GaAs wafers, Sumitomo Electric, Freiberger Compound Materials, and Crystal Technology (AXT) account for approximately 95% of the market. Due to the high specification and continual development of GaAs wafers in emerging laser applications, we expect leading manufacturers to maintain at least another 3 to 5 years of technology. At the same time, Chinese GaAs wafer suppliers have already taken some of the LED business from the world’s leading suppliers, so Chinese manufacturers will effectively increase their market share.

For GaAs epitaxial wafer production, there are different business models. The GaAs LED market is mainly vertically integrated, with very mature IDM manufacturers such as Xiamen Powerway Advanced Material Co., Ltd (PAM-XIAMEN),its one of core business is Gallium Arsenide, covering GaAs wafer substrate, GaAs epi wafer for RF,Photonics,LED and PVs. The GaAs RF market uses an epitaxial production outsourcing model. In the past few years, GaAs RF epitaxial business has undergone several integrations, and now has four leading manufacturers: IQE, New Optoelectronics (VPEC), Sumitomo Chemical (including Sumitomo Chemical Advanced Technology and SCIOCS), Intelli EPI .

Regarding the GaAs optoelectronics market, the epitaxial wafers business still depends on the application. The GaAs data communication market is mainly epi-integrated. IDM manufacturers include Finisar, Avago, and II-VI. Epitaxial wafers production outsourcing is very important for 3D sensing in smartphones!

In 2017, Apple supplier Lumentum will use IQE as its VCSEL epitaxial wafers production service provider. This has caused IQE’s share price to rise almost 10 times. Other leading GaAs epitaxial manufacturers are undergoing qualification or hill climbing production. We expect the market performance of GaAs optoelectronic epitaxial wafers to be similar to the GaAs RF epitaxial wafer market.

KeyWords: Gallium Arsenide wafer, gaas substrate, gaas semiconductor, ingaas wafer, algaas, gaas hemt

For more information, please visit our website: https://www.powerwaywafer.com,

send us email at angel.ye@powerwaywafer.com or powerwaymaterial@gmail.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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