News Article
Silicon threatens to muscle in on III-V devices
Device revenues for gallium arsenide (GaAs), a compound semiconductor, grew slightly from 2011 to 2012. The primary drivers for the increase were in handset growth, particularly smartphones.
Strategy Analytics maintains that although Skyworks and WIN Semiconductors remain at the top of this market, the silicon threat is looming.
According to the market research firm's "GaAs Device Industry Closes up in 2012" report, the silicon device market has seen recent developments which could compete with GaAs device revenues in the immediate future.
In the short-term, revenue in the GaAs device market is expected to exceed the historical average. But in the longer term, it is expected that recent developments in CMOS multi-mode, multi-band handset PAs from Qualcomm and others will pose a significant threat to the GaAs device market.
"Smartphones continue to grow faster than the overall handset market. This growth, coupled with more bands and increased GaAs device content remains the single biggest driver for revenue growth in the GaAs device market," notes Eric Higham, Director of the Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service (GaAs). "In the short-term, we anticipate this combination of factors will drive GaAs device revenue growth above historical averages."
Asif Anwar, Director, Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice, adds, "Strong growth in the last quarter of 2012 provides a good starting point for the GaAs industry in 2013. However, recent announcements about CMOS multi-mode, multi-band PAs and envelope tracking will threaten the GaAs device market and these developments will be monitored closely."
Strategy Analytics maintains that although Skyworks and WIN Semiconductors remain at the top of this market, the silicon threat is looming.
According to the market research firm's "GaAs Device Industry Closes up in 2012" report, the silicon device market has seen recent developments which could compete with GaAs device revenues in the immediate future.
In the short-term, revenue in the GaAs device market is expected to exceed the historical average. But in the longer term, it is expected that recent developments in CMOS multi-mode, multi-band handset PAs from Qualcomm and others will pose a significant threat to the GaAs device market.
"Smartphones continue to grow faster than the overall handset market. This growth, coupled with more bands and increased GaAs device content remains the single biggest driver for revenue growth in the GaAs device market," notes Eric Higham, Director of the Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service (GaAs). "In the short-term, we anticipate this combination of factors will drive GaAs device revenue growth above historical averages."
Asif Anwar, Director, Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice, adds, "Strong growth in the last quarter of 2012 provides a good starting point for the GaAs industry in 2013. However, recent announcements about CMOS multi-mode, multi-band PAs and envelope tracking will threaten the GaAs device market and these developments will be monitored closely."
