All about Gallium Nitride and GaN power semiconductors

Gallium Nitride or GaN is often called the silicon of the future. As technology continues to advance at an exponential rate, the need for faster, more efficient semiconductors has created a demand for GaN semiconductors.

As gallium nitride semiconductors have replaced traditional silicon MOSFETs in many applications, many manufacturers are wondering if GaN will ultimately replace silicon as the reigning supreme? Semiconductor industry analysis shows a positive outlook for GaN but it will still be sometime before GaN will be at the heart of all semiconductor manufacturing. 

What is GaN?

Gallium nitride is a direct bandgap semiconductor compound that is used to make semiconductor devices like transistors, diodes etc. It is considered to be an extremely high-performance material that was first introduced in the 1990s as a component in LEDs or light emitting diodes. The reason why GaN is very efficient is because it has a wide bandgap of 3.2 eV. It is a very hard material and has a Wurtzite crystal structure. This enables the semiconductor to handle extremely high voltages and temperatures.

The applications are many and wide ranging. GaN is used in optoelectronic devices, high-frequency radio communications etc. It can be used in the manufacturing of semiconductor power devices and RF compounds. In fact, researchers are now working on developing high temperature microprocessors using GaN for space applications.

Some of its current applications include

• Radiation-hardened transistors used in satellites
• Lasers and photonics applications like LEDs
• Radio frequency compounds, for example RF power amplifiers
• Solar cells for photovoltaic systems
• Wireless power transmission
• DC-DC converters
• Light detection and ranging that is devices in autonomous cars that measure distance with lasers

GaN versus silicon

Semiconductor market report shows that GaN semiconductors have significant advantages over silicon technology. GaN is superior in terms of power and temperature tolerance and it has unique characteristics like high-speed switching capacity, high current density, low resistance and a higher dielectric strength. Moreover GaN semiconductors have matchless carrier mobility. The band gap is three times that of silicon and it also has higher electric breakdown capabilities.

Semiconductor industry analysis reveals that there is a surge in demand for GaN semiconductors especially in military and space applications. This is expected to drive the market further owing to their superior stability in radiation environments.

GaN is also seen to have a higher demand in power electronics. This is because of its ability to control electrons which is more than 1000 times of silicon and yet it is manufactured at a lower cost.

According to semiconductor market Data analysis, the global GaN devices market is expected to reach 25 billion by 2023 growing at the rate of 8% CAGR. The market is typically segmented into type, wafer size, devices and end users.

As per semiconductor industry data analysis, the GaN semiconductor market is further segmented into

• Opto semiconductor
• Power semiconductor and
• RF semiconductors

The target market for gallium nitride semiconductor devices include wafer equipment manufacturers, integrated devices manufacturers, technology providers, research organizations and consulting companies, government agencies, distributors and traders etc.

Some of the key providers in this market are launching new products, upgrading their existing product range and finding newer applications in their product offerings. As the demand rises, the market is predicted to keep experiencing a greater level of competition. Some of the top vendors in this GaN semiconductor devices market include Cree, Infineon, Qorvo, Mitsubishi Electric, Efficient Power Conversion, GaN Systems, Microsemi, Macom etc.

Growth Drivers for the Global Integrated Circuits (IC) Market

At the beginning of 2020, the global economic conditions indicated a single-digit percentage sales growth in the IC market after it fell by 15% in 2019. Yet, the world changed abruptly in the Q1 of 2020 with the rapid outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic as the world shut down a majority of the countries and brought the global markets to a standstill from March 2020.

The demand for integrated circuits has a direct impact on the global semiconductor market as ICs and electronic discrete components like transistors and diodes are made of semiconductors. Integrated Circuits are manufactured on a single piece of material that has semiconductor properties. One may have heard of two types of ICs: Analog and Digital. Analog ICs can use a spectrum of signals while digital ICs handle discrete signals such as binary values.

Some of the top integrated circuit companies in the world include Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Derf Electronics, Infineon, NXP Semiconductors, Renesas, STMicroelectronics etc.

Factors Driving Growth In The Global IC Market

The rising use of next-gen mobile networks like 4G and 5G needs the installation of new infrastructure. Chipsets like radio frequency integrated circuits, systems on chips, cellular ICs, application specific ICs and millimeter-wave integrated circuits are chiefly used for 5G infrastructure.

As a result, there is high growth indicated for the analog IC market. Integrated circuit Market research reports indicate that the deployment of 5G will be the demand driver for semiconductors driving revenue from US $422.8 billion in 2019 to US $448 billion in 2020.

Growth in the semiconductor industry has also enabled advances in automotive devices. The Automotive Integrated Circuits market is projected to reach $89,140 million by 2025. Automotive IC can be customized for specific application in a vehicle. Innovation in technology has enabled automobile companies to assemble various applications within a single chip.

Additionally, the rise in adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) is also a factor driving the growth for ICs. In a sense, ICs allow us to understand and transmit intelligence and data. IoT is predicted to increase the demand in the integrated circuit market owing to the many benefits of using analog ICs.

Analog ICs can be used across a range of real-time and connected devices and apps. They are efficient in terms of power consumption features and signal processing features required for an automated devices ecosystem.

In fact, many reports suggest that there will be 25 billion internet connected devices by 2021. But behind each of these devices will be ICs that have the embedded technology to communicate and sense or respond to the environment.

The increased adoption of IoT devices will increase the demand for ICs and it is expected to fuel growth in the global integrated circuits market. For a detailed Ic Market research report, Follow VLSIresearch.

Longer-Term Outlook For Semiconductor Equipment Market Remains Positive

Despite COVID-19 and an initial slow quarter, the semiconductor equipment market share is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8% in the forecast period of 2020-2025. There is much interest in the semiconductor fab equipment market report. Semiconductor wafer fabrication is the process that produces photonic and electronic circuits. These include LEDs, radio frequency amplifiers and optical computer components.

Wafer fabrication enables building components with the desired electrical structures. Semiconductor equipment plays a crucial role in Integrated Circuit or IC manufacturing. Semiconductor wafer fabrication facilitates the creation of these circuits that are used so commonly in electronics and electrical devices.

For semiconductor device fabrication, a number of processes are used to transform the bare silicon wafer to circuit. Such as PVD/CVD, RTP, plasma etch, photolithography and CMP. Semiconductor fab equipment market is expected to grow by Q2 and Q3 of 2020.

Semiconductor Equipment Forecast Wider Outlook

VLSI reports that order activity for semiconductor equipment has continued to grow, rising to four points at 64 degrees. Even though the sales fell more than 8% sequentially in the first quarter, the equipment industry is predicted to bounce back in Q2.

Equipment sales will rise sequentially by single digits in the second quarter. There are two factors that will lead to this increase. Additional revenue will be realised from shipments in Q1. Secondly, there is a strong demand from China. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment market share is categorized based on front-end, back-end equipment, semiconductor fab equipment, product type etc.

This forecast comes as a huge relief as compared to the initial negative forecast for Q2. However, prospects in 2H20 are still challenging because of the continuing global recession. There is also a likelihood of export restrictions on semiconductor equipment to China. Considering that Q1 sales for Integrated Circuits are better than expected, all is not gloomy yet. 

Long-Term Drivers And Outlook Remain The Same

According to semiconductor industry experts, the key long-term drivers and trends will remain. Some major predictions include electronic sales exceeding $2T, ICs running at $330B and equipment sales greater than $70B. This is because new applications demand more complex processes, in turn leading to equipment demand. 

However, equipment sales depend on robust semiconductor sales, units and transition to new technologies. There doesn’t appear to be a substantial reduction in the semiconductor equipment sales despite Coronavirus.

The top 4 industry drivers continue to remain strong:

•  5G and Infrastructure
• Datacenter
• PC upgrade cycle
• AI innovations

Overall, demand in the semiconductor industry is fuelled by smartphones and applications in consumer electronics and automotive applications. These industries are led by technology-based innovations such as wireless (5G) and Artificial Intelligence. Data released by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) states that the semiconductor equipment industry outlook is promising and will recover in 2020 and scale new heights in 2021.

Coronavirus Impact on Semiconductor Industry Sales

Coronavirus Semiconductor Watch: IC $ sales rebounded last week above 5-year TMA levels as chip makers sought to capitalize on lower chip prices and avoid being unprepared to address end-market demand when this issue ends. IC sales were higher than in past pandemics at week+3 after a WHO global emergency announcement. COVID-19’s impact for week+3 was similar to the Ebola Virus outbreak, which also had a strong week+3 rise and about a week behind that of the Sendai earthquake. IC unit volumes also rebounded in week+3, showing even more strength than last week. This is reflecting a similar business optimism among IC buyers to that of semiconductor equipment.

Overall, there was not an infection of Semiconductor market sales in week+3, which jumped above 2019 levels for the same week a year ago. The price decline did abate last week, which is a very positive sign that the market remains healthy. While, semiconductor demand remains weak due to the Coronavirus, VLSIresearch’s Semiconductor Supply-Demand index did jump from Loose to Balanced, as the Coronavirus continued to disrupt the supply chain in a way that’s causing IC buyers to stock up on chips. DRAM and NAND Supply-Demand conditions jumped to Tight, as chip buyers worried the impact of COVID-19 in South Korea could delay shipments from Samsung and SK Hynix, who also have wafer fab production centers in China as well.  IMDs moved up to Balanced. Foundry & OSAT remained unchanged at Saturated while Analog & Power stayed Balanced. Last week, Logic and Auto nowcast for the 1st quarter of 2020 held with little change. DRAM and Analog slipped slightly, while NAND improved by more than 4 points.

As for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the Coronavirus has had no substantial impact on overall Wafer Fab Equipment shipments in 1Q20. 2Q20 is likely to be lower than VLSIresearch forecasted in January 2020. Test and Assembly are expected to have lower shipments. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment supply chain is stressed because of lower component availability from China.

Chipmakers have not slowed wafer starts or expansions plans so far, according to VLSIresearch’s surveys of the market last week. Logic producers in particular are locked in the EUV implementation race so spending for them remains strategic. Memory spending is more suspect and could come up short this year if the virus disruption persists because memory inventories are already above normal levels. For more detail and weekly updates on the subject, please access VLSIresearch’s reports, including The Chip Insider: Equipment and Emerging Markets, The Chip Insider: Strategy and Tactics, and Semiconductor Industry Analytics.

Market Forecast And Future Potential Of The Semiconductor Industry

Semiconductors are ubiquitous in electronic devices, microprocessor chips, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits. Anything that is computerized or uses radio waves needs semiconductors. A majority of these semiconductor chips and transistors are made of silicon. This is why you hear the terms ‘Silicon Valley’ and silicon economy so often. Silicon and semiconductors are at the heart of our digital economy. The semiconductor market is set for further growth fueled by a demand wave of new technology trends such as artificial intelligence.

It is predicted that demand for chips will rise in response to the growing use of AI across sectors. Each decade has witnessed a fresh rise in demand in the semiconductor industry led by disruptive tech trends. From 1997-2007 it was the rise in the use of personal computers that boosted the production of central processing units ,memory chips etc.  At the same time, the proliferation of the Internet drove the sales for Ethernet equipment, ASICs and network processors and the smartphone revolution led to a demand surge for mobile processors. The next wave of demand was led by cloud computing that needed significant server CPUs and storage. 

Market pundits have predicted that artificial intelligence is the new catalyst for growth that will drive another demand cycle for the semiconductor sector. Industry exports believe and predict that the AI-related semiconductor market is expected to grow from US6$bn to more than US$30bn by 2022 owing to AI-driven use cases and wider adoption of machine learning technology. This is at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 50%.

There are seven component types that make up the semiconductor market share. These include memory, logic, microcomponent, analog, optoelectronic, discrete and sensor. Memory products typically command the largest share of revenues. The next largest chunk of the overall pie is driven by sale of logic and microcomponent chips.

There is high demand for chips as a direct result of the growing use of AI globally. A large part of this requirement is stemming from the automotive and industrial markets, which are two of the most rapidly growing sectors.

The following are some of the new emerging opportunities for the semiconductor market:

• Autonomous vehicles
• 5G technologies
• Consumer electronics
• Servers and storage devices

While the market for personal computers will decline through the next decade, the decline will be offset by growth in other tech like the Internet of Things, Machine Learning (ML) and the use of AI in servers and data centers.

Semiconductor Market Forecast 2020

Having said that, the semiconductor market is bound to be impacted by COVID-19 much like other sectors. The visibility for chipmakers and equipment suppliers is limited because of ongoing supply chain issues and end-demand concerns. It is believed that the near-term and mid-term impact of the pandemic will be significant, possibly leading to a downside pressure for the chip industry in 2020.

Conclusion

The wider outlook for the future of the semiconductor industry seems to be positive because of new disruptive technology like AI and its broad application across sectors. The impact of COVID-19 may cause a slowdown in the nearer term.

Chip Insider in Semiconductor Industry

Semiconductor Industry is a huge collection of companies that are engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductor devices. It was formed in around 1960. Since then, it has grown to be a $412.2 billion industry. The global semiconductor industry is governed by the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, China, Israel, European Union, Malaysia, and Singapore.

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It focuses on the most essential perspectives that are edgy and blunt on industry issues. It provides the following analysis for detailed discussion and advisory: -

1. Time for personalized inquiries;
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Chip Insider is a trusted advisor for critical decisions. It provides weekly business updates through Weather Reports, continuous and current reviews of industry issues through Strategies and Tactics, analysis on equipment and business trends through Equipment and Emerging Markets.

The CMRS platform of VLSI in Modular Format Structure is as follows: -

• Chip Insider provides strategic and tactical insights along with the analysts of VLSIresearch.
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Summary

The semiconductor industry had phenomenal growth over the past 25 years. It is a $150 billion-dollar industry and because of its stupendous growth, it also faces environmental issues. Chip Insider creates weekly weather reports, predictions, advisories and analysis for the important decisions in the semiconductor industry.