Sign Up to Our Free Weekly E-Brief

After turning the tide in 2020 from the first decline in more than a decade, revenue for RF gallium arsenide (GaAs) devices continued its upward trajectory in 2021, summarizes the ‘RF GaAs Device Technology and Market Forecast: 2021 – 2026’ from Strategy Analytics Advanced Semiconductor Applications (ASA).

The report identifies 5G devices and networks as the primary reason for this growth, but it also points out some trouble on the horizon, forecasting that revenue will decline in 2022 as inflation, trade sanctions, supply chain issues and global economic uncertainty prove too much to overcome.

Beyond 2022 however, growth will resume, with RF GaAs device revenue approaching $9.3bn by 2026. Wider deployment of 5G handsets and networks will be the growth engine for future RF GaAs device revenue growth.

“The RF GaAs device market has been pretty impervious to the forces affecting global economies the past few years,” notes Eric Higham, director of the Advanced Semiconductor Applications (ASA) and Advanced Defense System (ADS) service. “GaAs device revenue ties so strongly to the cellular market, and the uptake of 5G with more RF content has powered revenue growth these past two years,” he adds. “However, we now see substantial softening of handset demand in 2022 that will cause RF GaAs device revenue to drop in 2022. Fortunately, the underlying growth trends remain strong and, as inflation subsides and global economies get back to growth, RF GaAs device revenue will turn upward.”

Despite pandemic, GaAs device market bounces back

©2006-2022 Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd. All rights reserved. Semiconductor Today and the editorial material contained within it and related media is the copyright of Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd. Reproduction in whole or part without permission from Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd is forbidden. In most cases, permission will be granted, if the magazine and publisher are acknowledged.

Disclaimer: Material published within Semiconductor Today and related media does not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or staff. Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd and its staff accept no responsibility for opinions expressed, editorial errors and damage/injury to property or persons as a result of material published.

Semiconductor Today, Juno Publishing and Media Solutions Ltd, Suite no. 133, 20 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham, GL52 2LY, UK

View our privacy, cookie and data protection policy