GaN power to reach $280 million in 2021
In its 'Power GaN 2016: Epitaxy and Devices, Applications, and Technology Trends' report, Market research firm Yole Développement predicts that the GaN power business will reach $280 million in 2021, growing at 86 percent CAGR between 2015 and 2021.
It says the market is being driven by emerging applications including power supplies for datacentre and telecom, AC fast chargers, Lidar, envelope tracking, and wireless power.
"Numerous powerful developments and key collaborations have been announced during this period and confirmed a promising and fast-growing industry", comments Hong Lin from Yole. Collaborations include Integrated Device Technology (IDT) and Efficient Power Conversion (EPC); Infineon Technologies and Panasonic; Exagan and XFab; TSMC and GaN Systems for volume production, which all took place within the last two years.
Up until late 2014, 600V/650V GaN HEMTs' commercial availability was still questionable, despite announcements from various players. Fast-forward to 2016 (see above) and end users can buy low-voltage GaN (<200V) devices from EPC and high-voltage (600V/650V) components from several players, including Transphorm, GaN Systems, and Panasonic.
The idea of bringing GaN from the power semiconductor market to the much bigger analogue IC market is also now gaining interest, says Yole. For example, EPC Power and GaN Systems are both working on more integrated solutions.
