Electronic devices based on wide-bandgap semiconductors are now set to grow by 30 percent or more per year through 2012, after years of development, according to Strategies Unlimited, a research unit of PennWell Corporation. Their wide-bandgap electronics market forecast reveals that the two most important semiconductors will be gallium nitride (GaN), used mainly for microwave applications) and silicon carbide (SiC), used mainly for power supplies and motor controls.

Other materials, such as aluminum nitride (AlN), are much less mature. This growth depends strongly on many factors, however, particularly improvement in the substrate materials.

Wide-bandgap materials offer nearly ideal properties for fast, hot, high-power electronics. They have attractive properties but have high melting points, above 2,000 °C, and they have taken the semiconductor industry the longest to master. They benefit from much of the development in silicon electronics, but silicon-based products are much less expensive to manufacture. Therefore, wide-bandgap electronics has to compete in those niches where silicon and other solutions are inferior.

The projected market growth strongly depends on continuing improvements in substrate quality, price, and availability; new device and package designs; and the ability of system designers to take advantage of the new technology. The ultimate goal is to make the devices on native substrates with diameters of at least 4-inches, and defect levels of 104 per cm2, or less. Such improvements would increase manufacturing yields and lower costs, and ultimately expand the market for the electronic devices.

Early growth will be dominated by products for microwave power amplifiers, such as for communications, radar, and military uses. Growth in products for power management will take longer, while low-power products for high-temperature environments will not see a significant opportunity through the forecast period. The devices will compete against established semiconductor-based devices and vacuum tubes in segments that will have a combined value of about $1 billion in revenues by 2012.

With rapid breakthroughs, the wide-bandgap electronics market could advance to as much as $300 million by 2012, as manufacturing costs fall and the products can compete against silicon devices in power supply applications.

There are over 150 companies in 16 countries researching wide-bandgap materials and devices. Leading suppliers of wide-bandgap electronics today are Cree and Eudyna, with two-thirds of the revenues. The market is split among several types of players. Cree expects to leverage its internal manufacture of SiC substrates and LEDs to be competitive in wide-bandgap electronics, while Nitronex aims for low-cost manufacturing by growing wide-bandgap material on silicon substrates.

Meanwhile, established GaAs suppliers like Eudyna, RFMD, Triquint, and others also aim to leverage their expertise in microwave electronics, while STMicroelectronics and Infineon aim to leverage their expertise in power management components.

About this study

The Strategy Unlimited report, Wide-bandgap Electronics -- 2008, reviews the technology, applications, key trends, markets, and suppliers of electronics based on SiC, GaN, and AlN. It presents forecasts by application and material type, including unit sales and price projections, along with estimates of revenues and market shares of key suppliers.

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