Status of the Compound Semiconductor Industry 2022

Aixtron, Accelink, Alibaba, Allos, Alpha&Omega, Alstom, Alta Devices, Amazon, Amec, Ams Osram, Amkor, AOI, Apple, Arima, ASE, AT&S, AWSC, AXT, Aymont, Azur Space, BASiC Semiconductor, BMW, Bombardier, BorgWarner, Bridgelux, Broadcom, Brückewell, BYD, Caly Technology, Cengol, CETC, CGD, Changelight, China Crystal Technologies, Ciena, Cisco Clas-SiC wafer fab, CMK, CRRC, Daimler, Danfoss, Delphi, Delta electronics, DenseLight, DENSO, DISCO, DongKe, Dowa, Duet Microelectronics, DXT Shenzen, Efficient Power Conversion, Egtronics, Elbana, Emcore, Enkris, Epic, EpiGaN, Episil, Epistar, EpiWorld, Ericsson, Evatran, Exagan, Facebook, Fairchild, FBH, Finisar, Foxconn, Freiberger Compound Materials, Fuji Electric, Fuji Xerox, GaN Power, GaN Systems, GCS, GE, GeneSiC, Global Power Device, Global Power Technology, GlobalWafers, Google, GTAT, Hamamatsu, HC Semitek, Hestia Power, Hexawave, Hisense Broadband, Hitachi, HiWafer, Huawei, Huntersun, IGaN, Coherent, Imec, Infineon, Infinera, Inneas, InnoLight, Innoscience, Impact, InPhi, Intel, IntelliEPI, IQE,  IVCT, JEDEC, JX Nippon, Keysight, KISAB, Kyma, LandMark, Lasertel, LG Electronics, Littelfuse, Low Noise Factory, Lumentum, Lumileds, Luminar, Macom, Masimo, MediaTek, Microchip, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsubishi Electric, Modulight, Navitas Semiconductors, NexGen, Nichia, Northrop Grumman, NTT, Nuvoton, NXP, Odyssey Semiconductor, OKMETIC, onsemi, Optowell Korea, Panasonic, Philips, Power Integrations, Powerex, Qromis, Qualcomm, RENESAS, Ricoh, Rockley Photonics, ROHM, Saint-Gobain Lumilog, Samsung, San’an, Sanan IC, Sanken, Schneider Electric, SCIOCS, SCIOXS, Semiconductor Wafer Inc., Semikron, SemiQ, Senic, Sensors Unlimited, Showa Denko,  SICC, SiCrystal, Siemens, Siltronic, SinoNitride, Sivers Photonics, SK Siltron css, SkyWater, Skyworks, SMA, Smart Photonics, Soitec, Sony, Source Photonics, StarPower, STMicroelectronics, Sumco, Sumitomo Chemical Advanced Technologies, Sumitomo Electric, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Sumitomo SEI, Synlight, Tagore Technology, TankeBlue, Teledyne, Texas Instruments, Thorlabs, Toshiba, Toyoda Gosei, Toyota, Transphorm, Trilumina, TrueLight, TSMC, TT, Electronics, UMS, Vanchip, Veeco, Vertilas, VIGO photonics, VIS, VisIC Technologies, Vital, Vitesco, Volvo, Voyant, Photonics, VPEC, Wafer Technologies, WeEn, Win Semiconductor, Wingtech, Wise Integration, Wolfspeed, X-FAB, Yaskawa, Yunnan Germanium, Zadient, ZTE, and more.

The compound semiconductor substrate market is strongly driven by power and photonics applications,  reaching close to $2.4B by 2027 with a 16% CAGR

Compound semiconductors (CS) have been adopted in various applications over the past decades. Recently, SiC and GaN in power, GaN and GaAs in RF, GaAs and InP in Photonics, as well as  LEDs and µLEDs in display, have all gained strong momentum. As a result, the substrate and epiwafer markets are expected to grow accordingly.

Players’ strategies for synergy in CS

Substrate companies might enter the next levels of the supply chain by offering epiwafers or devices when the “substrate diameter transition”  happens. Wolfspeed is the leading SiC substrate and epiwafer supplier for Power SiC and RF GaN. As the larger-format  substrate is the strategic resource in the next generation of device manufacturing, the opening of 8” wafer fabs and the expansion of material capacity illustrates the ambitious targets to be achieved in the coming decade. Meanwhile, II-VI closed its acquisition of Coherent and renamed the company, thus demonstrating the transition of the focus of the company. Today, Coherent is the leading photonics device player as well as the leading SiC substrate supplier for power and RF applications. Moreover, the company is working with SEDI in RF GaN device manufacturing and entering the power SiC device business with GE. Both are strengthening their competitiveness from substrate level to device level.

AXT, Sumitomo Electric, Freiberger, and SICC are the leading suppliers in GaAs, InP, and semi-insulating SiC substrates. The objective of  growing their revenue relies on expanding the business into other CS materials. Players are looking at the synergy between GaAs and InP substrates for RF, photonics, and µLEDs applications. Also, players in semi-insulating SiC are entering n-type SiC for a market with a higher growth rate.

Epiwafer suppliers benefit from the different dynamics of the CS open epiwafer market. As IQE have engaged in various markets (for example RF GaAs and GaN), the double-digit CAGRs of InP and GaAs photonics represent the markets with both volume and scale. And µLED is the booming market, expected to double every year in the coming five years. VPEC succeeded in becoming the largest supplier of RF GaAs epiwafer in the open market, and the company continues increasing its engagement in photonics for future growth.

Compound semiconductors today and tomorrow

With LEDs, handset power amplifiers, and telecom & datacom, compound semiconductor went through its first inflation point for GaAs and InP in the 1990s. As the demands for 5G connectivity, EV, and fast chargers in smartphones come to the markets today, compound semiconductor will grow in both volume and market value. Looking into the future, e-mobility and higher-voltage applications, sensing in various end-systems, the transition of 5G to 6G, and µLEDs display will bring in inflation points for different CS materials, along with more emerging substrates and new applications to come.

We invite you to read our Status of the Compound Semiconductor Industry 2022 report for comprehensive analyses of market dynamics, eco-system evolution, and technology trends, with focus on CS substrates and epiwafers.

Introduction

• Acronyms
• Methodology
• Table of contents
• Report’s objectives
• Scope of the report
• About the authors
• Companies cited

3 Page Summary                                       

Executive Summary

Context

• What is Compound Semiconductor?
• History of Diameter Expansion of Different Crystals
• Major Compound Semiconductors Application Overview

Game-changing news in Compound Semiconductors

CS market forecasts - Focus on substrate & epiwafer markets

• Compound Semiconductor substrate market ($M)
• Compound Semiconductor substrate shipments (units)
• Compound Semiconductor substrate ASP($) evolution
• Total Compound Semiconductor epiwafer shipments (units)
• Compound Semiconductor Open epiwafer market ($M and units)
• Compound Semiconductor epiwafer ASP($) evolution

Industry trends

• From components to applications
• Mobile & Consumer
• Automotive
• Industrial
• Telecom & Infrastructure
• Medical
• Defense & Aerospace

Technology trends

• Power SiC
• Power GaN
• RF GaAs
• RF GaN
• Photonics GaAs
• Photonics InP

Substrate Size Evolution in Compound Semiconductors

Compound Semiconductor Ecosystem

• Power SiC
• Power GaN
• RF GaAs
• RF GaN
• Photonics InP
• Photonics GaAs
• GaAs and GaN-based LEDs
• GaAs and GaN-based Mini/MicroLEDs
• Covid and Chip Shortage Impacts
• Leading CS players’ capacity evolution

Focus on business synergies

Company profiles

• Wolfspeed in RF GaN and Power SiC
• Coherent in RF, Power and photonics
• IQE in RF, Power and photonics
• Sumitomo Electric in RF, Power and Photonics
• Win Semiconductors in RF and Photonics
• VPEC in RF, photonics
• TSMC in Power
• Freiberger Compound Materials GmbH in RF, photonics
• AXT in RF, LED and Photonics
• SICC in SiC substrates for RF and Power

Focus on China

Emerging substrates

Conclusions & Outlook

Key Features

• Market forecast for compound semiconductor (CS) substrate and epiwafer, split by material, until 2027
• Game-changing news in CS over the past years
• Industry trends and requirements in various markets adopting CS technologies
• Technology trends and focus on substrate diameter evolution
• Ecosystem analysis and investment, split by material
• Capacity expansion roadmap at different levels of the supply chain
• The synergy between different ecosystems and the opportunities of Si players to enter
• List of top-ranked players in each CS material, and their revenues
• Company profiles of 10 key compound semiconductor players, and revenue breakdown
• Analysis of emerging substrates and outlook for the CS industry

Product objectives

Context for the compound semiconductor (CS) markets in RF, power, photonics, and display applications and forecasts during the 2021 - 2027 timeframe

• Game-changing news in the CS industry
• Key drivers that are growing the CS market
• CS substrate and epiwafer market values and volumes, by application and technology

Analyze the industry trends for each CS substrate

• The opportunities for CS in different market verticals
• The competition between the various CS and Si technologies

Review the CS ecosystems

• Players’ strategies at different levels of the supply chain
• Synergies between industries and players
• Special focus on capacity expansion of players
• Significant events and latest trends of market players
• The developmental focus in different regions

Technology trends for CS substrates, as well as emerging substrates

• The latest technological developments
• The benefits and challenges
• Technology maturity and market status of emerging substrates