GaN will Push Microwave RF Power Semi Market

Point-to-point communications, SATCOM, radars of all types and new industrial/medical applications will all benefit by the introduction of these high-power GaN devices, finds market intelligence firm ABI Research. “While gallium arsenide devices are presently the backbone of microwave RF power it is gallium nitride that will drive growth going forward,” notes research director Lance Wilson. “GaN can operate at much higher voltages and at power levels that were difficult or impossible to reach using GaAs.” In addition to the above mentioned application segments, microwave GaN is finally reaching the performance points that can start to seriously challenge travelling wave tube applications for new designs that have historically used the latter. “Microwave RF Power Semiconductors” examines Microwave RF power semiconductor devices that have power outputs of greater than 3 watts and operate at frequencies of 4 to 18 GHz. This is a new study, which is part of ABI Research’s ongoing effort to track the major changes in the RF power industry. With the current release, analysis of the six main vertical segments (C-Band GaAs, C-Band GaN, X-Band GaAs, X-Band GaN, Ku-Band GaAs, and Ku-Band GaN) is further expanded to 28 application sub-segments.