Report: Spending on RF power semiconductors passes $1.5B for 2018, driven by GaN
A new report highlights growth in the RF power semiconductor market in 2018, driven by vendors' material preference of Gallium Nitride.Market foresight advisory firm ABI Research reported Thursday that global spending on RF power semiconductors—for <4GHz and >3W) continued to grow in 2018, surpassing $1.5 billion. ABI stated that the wireless infrastructure segment has turned around, with all segments improved, while GaN continues to capture market share.
“Gallium Nitride has gained market share in 2018 and is forecasted to be a significant force over the next few years,” noted ABI Research Director Lance Wilson. “It bridges the gap between two older technologies, exhibiting the high-frequency performance of Gallium Arsenide combined with the power handling capabilities of Silicon LDMOS. GaN is now a mainstream technology which has achieved more than measurable market share and, in the future, will capture more than a quarter of the market.
ADI said wireless infrastructure represented about two-thirds of total RF power semiconductor sales, posting a strong performance in the second half of 2018. Meanwhile, growth in segments outside of wireless infrastructure are showing mid-single digit CAGR over ADI's forecast period of 2019 to 2024. The vertical showing the strongest growth in the RF power semiconductor adoption business—outside of wireless infrastructure—is commecial avionics and air traffic control, which ADI's Wilson described as now being "a significant market."
"While the producers of these devices are in the major industrialized countries, this sub-segment market is now so global that end equipment buyers can be from anywhere," ADI stated.
ABI's report follows a 2016 publication from MarketsandMarkets stating that the global market value for RF Power Semiconductors was $10.57 billion in 2015, and expected to reach $31.26 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 15.4% between 2016 and 2022
The April 2019 print and digital edition of Evaluation Engineering featured a special report on the topic of Power Semiconductor Test—comprised of vendor commentary about trends, challenges, and new products/solutions.
