Demand accelerates for InP-based electronic devices
According to a new report from Strategies Unlimited, the market for InP-based electronic components will exceed $0.5 billion in 2006, and has the potential to reach several billion dollars within a decade. The most likely applications for InP electronic devices in the coming years include chip sets for 40 Gbit/s optical communications systems, receiver OEICs for 10 Gbit/s applications, power amplifiers for 2.5G and 3G mobile telephone handsets, and MMICs for millimeter-wave (greater than 18 GHz) radios used in mobile telephone backhaul equipment and broadband wireless access. Other applications include satellite receivers, millimeter-wave radar, and test and measurement equipment.
The current high level of interest in InP electronics may be understood in terms of the number of organizations working in the field. There are nearly 130 companies and over 100 universities and research centers worldwide with activities related to InP electronics. InP-based electronic devices such as HBTs and HEMTs have achieved unprecedented performance relative to competing material systems such as GaAs and SiGe. Although a number of issues remain to be solved before large-scale manufacturing of InP devices can be carried out, it seems clear that over the next five years these devices will successfully penetrate a number of applications for which their performance is well-matched.
Details of the technologies, applications and market forecasts discussed above are contained in Strategies Unlimited s report SC-24, entitled Indium Phosphide Electronics 2002 -- Technology Status, Applications, and Market Forecasts.