GaAs chips saw 25 percent growth in 2015
According to the US market research and consulting firm The Information Network, strong wireless demand resulted in more than 25 percent growth in the GaAs IC market in 2015.
Every mobile phone contains power amplifiers (PA), which are mainly based on GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology. 2G handsets contain one PA while 3G handsets often contain up to five PAs. Apple's 4G 6S smartphone contains six PAs: Avago's ACPM-7600 and ACPM-8010, Qualcomm's QFE2320 and QFE2340, and Skyworks' SKY85303 and SKY85707.
The company's report 'The GaAs IC Market' says that GaAs power amplifiers will remain the dominant RF technology in the foreseeable future although they will continue to lose market share to silicon-based CMOS alternatives.
PA pricing has increased from $0.30 per 2G handset to $1.25 per 3G handset and $3.25 for global long-term evolution (LTE) technology.
