RF GaN market growing at CAAGR of 14.1% to $733m in 2021, maintained by defense applications

RF gallium nitride (GaN) device revenue rose by slightly more than 23% in 2016, and will increase at a compound annual average growth rate (CAAGR) of 14.1% to $733m in 2021, forecasts the Strategy Analytics Strategic Component Applications (SCA) group report ‘RF GaN Market Update: 2016-2021’, as fast growth in defense applications – particularly radar, communications and electronic warfare (EW) – will offset an expected flattening of the wireless infrastructure segment to keep the overall market growth for GaN on an upwards trajectory.

“LTE base-station deployments in China have been the obvious growth driver for RF GaN revenue these past three years,” comments Eric Higham, service director, Advanced Semiconductor Applications (ASA) service. “As this activity winds down, infrastructure will remain a large and important segment, but the industry will need to position to take advantage of other applications and emerging 5G opportunities for growth,” he adds.

Key questions that the RF GaN device supply base needs to understand are listed as:

• How will the GaN equipment/supplier landscape change over time?
• What product platforms will be important?
• What are the technology/product differentiators?
• Where is the next big commercial application for RF GaN?

“While the GaN supply chain looks for guidance on these future commercial opportunities, fast growth in defense applications will keep the overall market growth for GaN on an upwards trajectory,” notes Asif Anwar, director of the Advanced Defense Systems service. “The question is, can companies focused exclusively on domestic defense sectors take advantage of this growing global demand? These companies will need to understand how to better compete against commercial manufacturers as well explore strategic options including partnerships or secondary manufacturing options.”