24 March 2017

GaN RF power devices to represent nearly 25% of high-power semiconductors for mobile wireless infrastructure in 2017

Despite a lackluster 2016 gallium nitride (GaN) RF power semiconductor devices gained meaningful market share over the last two years, and will represent nearly 25% of all high-power semiconductors for mobile wireless infrastructure in 2017, forecasts ABI Research. Future revenue growth will be driven by the Asia-Pacific region, including China.

“The increasing and critical need for wireless data remains an important market driver,” says research director Lance Wilson. “LTE and the initial building blocks of 5G will fuel the market’s growth for the next five years,” he adds.

RF power amplifiers (RFPA) are integral parts of all base-stations for cellular and mobile wireless infrastructure. They represent one of the most expensive component sub-assemblies in modern wireless infrastructure equipment, and both their performance and cost are important drivers in base-station design. The RF power semiconductors used in these power amplifiers must keep pace with the economic and technical realities facing designers and users of these RF power amplifiers, says ABI Research.

“Efficiency, physical size, linearity, and reliability are among the principal concerns,” concludes Wilson. “As price pressures become fiercer, new and innovative techniques and materials must be used to reduce the cost of this important component part while still maintaining performance.”

Tags: ABI RF power semiconductors GaN

Visit: https://www.abiresearch.com/research/service/high-power-rf-active-devices