News Article
Japanese Quake not expected to affect GaAs Industry
Strategy Analytics says there is no danger of immediate disruption to the supply of gallium and arsenide raw materials.
Strategy Analytics says that Japan is a leading player in the GaAs RF/microelectronics industry, accounting for 50 % of bulk substrate supply, 18-20 % of global SI GaAs epitaxial substrate production and up to one-fifth of the global GaAs device market.
The impact of the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, as well as the on-going issues with the nuclear reactors at Fukushima, are affecting the equipment and materials suppliers, consumer electronics companies, automotive, test and measurement companies in Japan.
Strategy Analytics believes the primary factors that will impact GaAs device supply out of Japan relate to more generic issues which have an impact on the whole electronics industry. These include disruption to utilities, logistics and concerns around the availability of materials used in chip packaging and assembly.
The firm’s assessment of the situation indicates that there is no danger of immediate disruption to the supply of gallium and arsenide raw materials. The supply of SI (semi-insulating) bulk substrates will be sustained and GaAs device manufacturing facilities were also largely unaffected.
There is the possibility, however, that any significant ramp in demand for GaAs epitaxial substrates over the next three to six weeks may lead to end-users being placed on allocation.
Strategy Analytics analysis shows that the Japanese epitaxial substrate suppliers were running at full production rates with little to no excess inventory in the supply chain.
