News Article
GaAs Bulk Substrate Market is a Recession-Buster
Strategy Analytics report shows that a strong rebound in the second half of 2009 has driven volumes up 10% Year-on-Year.
The slowdown in the Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) industry supply chain extended through to the first half of 2009, but a robust recovery in the second half resulted in Semi-Insulating (SI) GaAs bulk substrates volumes still growing year-on-year. The Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies service report, “Semi-insulating GaAs Substrate Markets: 2009-2014,” notes a recession-busting 10% year-on-year increase in 2009 substrate volumes driven by trends in next generation cellular handset platforms.
Orders started to filter through in the second quarter of 2009 as end-users looked to re-build stock levels. Strategy Analytics models showed by the end of the quarter that the market started to see robust demand for materials and devices through the GaAs industry supply chain.
“The strong recovery was helped by an incumbent position in the overall Power Amplifier (PA) market for cellular terminals,” noted Asif Anwar at Strategy Analytics. “This was further helped with the RF (radio frequency) front-end architectural requirements of next generation handsets.”
Anwar concluded, “Next generation handsets dictate an increase in the ratio of PAs per terminal as well as more complex switching requirements. This helped the market for SI GaAs bulk substrates to maintain recession-defying growth in 2009. It will also underpin growth moving forward.”
The report forecasts volume demand growing at a CAAGR of 12% through 2014, with the market worth $217 million, based on an examination of supply chain dynamics, coupled with extensive analysis of end-demand drivers for SI GaAs bulk substrates.
