GaAs substrate market expected to grow
Market research firm Strategy Analytics believes that with inventory issues now resolved, the semi-insulating (SI) GaAs market will grow, in terms of materials, by 54% through 2008. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to see the fastest growth - it increased last year by 33% in terms of area.
The analysts calculated that the SI GaAs market, dominated by 4-inch and 6-inch material used for microelectronic applications, was worth $136 million in 2003.
"Sumitomo Electric, Freiberger Compound Materials and Hitachi Cable grabbed 88% of the merchant market in 2003," noted Asif Anwar, Strategy Analytics director of GaAs services.
He thinks that 2003 was the cross-over year for 6-inch material, with users in North America and Japan making the transition to larger-diameter substrates. During that year the global 6-inch GaAs market increased by 79%.
Anwar expects a steady year-on-year increase in amount of material sold. "We re expecting that there will not be a return to an excessive inventory scenario," he revealed.
Anwar added that the average selling price (ASP) of GaAs material will decrease by 10-12% per year, which is in line with what components manufacturers are expecting. This price erosion will offset increases in material production, leading to a SI GaAs substrate market worth $134 million in 2008.
In comparison, the semiconducting GaAs substrate market was worth $253 million in 2003, and its predicted to increase by 110%, in terms of materials, by 2008.
