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The total high-power RF semiconductor market will approach $1bn by 2012, according to a new study ‘RF Power Semiconductor Devices’ from ABI Research.

But the shape of the industry five years from now will depend on three critical questions, says research director Lance Wilson. At the manufacturing level, will the introduction of gallium nitride and silicon carbide RF power devices mean the demise of Si LDMOS? With mobile/3G infrastructure markets in decline, will they continue to drive the RF power semiconductor industry as they have in the past? Will the market segments outside wireless infrastructure shore up this market space?

“This market has been overshadowed for many years by the wireless infrastructure sector,” says Wilson. “Now that new 3G/cellular wireless infrastructure deployments are declining, there is a paucity of information about how the rest of the industry is faring.”

ABI Research has therefore undertaken a market-sizing study for all RF power semiconductors with power outputs above 5W, operating at frequencies of 3.8GHz and below. (A later study will target those operating at higher frequencies.) The study sizes the RF power semiconductor market into six usage-based segments (wireless infrastructure, military, industrial/scientific/medical, broadcast, commercial avionics, and non-cellular communications) and 24 sub-segments, providing a detailed, market-driven analysis.

“This study puts wireless infrastructure - which is well understood - into the context of the rest of these markets,” says Wilson.

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Visit: www.abiresearch.com