According to a new report ‘GaN Semiconductor Devices (Power semiconductors, Opto semiconductors) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013-2019’ from Transparency Market Research, the market will increase from $379.82m in 2012 to $2,203.73m by 2019, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.6% from 2013 to 2019.
North America was the largest contributor in 2012, accounting for 32.1% of the GaN device market, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific, and the rest of the world (RoW). However, Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period, growing at a CAGR of 27.7% from 2013 to 2019, due mainly to the rapid growth in the electronic industry in Asia Pacific.
The growing demand for high-speed, high-temperature and power-handling capabilities has made the semiconductor industry rethink the designs and materials used in semiconductors, notes the report. As various faster and smaller computing devices arise, the use of silicon is making it difficult to sustain Moore’s Law. Due to its unique characteristics (such as superior noise factor, high maximum current, high breakdown voltage, and high oscillation frequency), GaN is a unique material of choice for numerous applications such as military, aerospace and defense sector, automotive sector and high-power applications such as industrial, solar, power and wind, says the report. GaN is also power efficient, as it requires less heat-sink compared to silicon.
Growing application areas as well as increased demand from the military is the major driving force for the growth of the GaN device market. The increase in demand is mainly due to the significant reductions in weight and size of devices achievable by using GaN. In addition, developments in improving the breakdown voltage of GaN are expected to boost usage in the field of electro-mobility.
In 2012, optoelectronic semiconductors represented the main product type and accounted for 96.6% of the GaN device market, due mainly to adoption of GaN opto semiconductors in military, aerospace, defense and consumer electronics sector. However, the power semiconductor segment is expected to grow the fastest during the forecast period, due mainly to the rising need for high-power devices in industrial applications.
Among various applications, the military, defense and aerospace sector held the highest market share in 2012, at $81.68m. Consumer electronics was second largest, followed by the ICT and automotive sectors. However, with the introduction of 4G networks, demand for high-power transistors and base-stations is expected to rise, so demand for GaN power semiconductors in ICT is expected to grow the fastest.
The report cites major players among GaN device makers as Fujitsu Ltd (Japan), GaN Systems Inc (Canada), Freescale Semiconductors Inc (USA), International Rectifier Corp (USA), Cree Inc (USA), Nichia Corp (Japan) and RF Micro Devices Inc (USA).
