APAC is expected to hold the largest share of the GaN semiconductor device market in 2026
The global GaN semiconductor device market will grow to USD 24.9 billion by 2026 (forecast year) from USD 19.4 billion in 2021 (estimated year), at a CAGR of 5.2 per cent between 2021 to 2026. The key drivers fueling the growth of this market include the wide gap property of GaN material facilitating innovative applications, success of GaN in RF power electronics, and the increasing adoption of GaN RF semiconductor devices for defense and aerospace applications.
“The market for GaN RF semiconductors is expected to exhibit the second-highest CAGR during the forecast period. Initially developed for improvised explosive device (IED) jammers in Iraq, GaN has emerged as the technology of choice for all new microwave and millimeter-wave electronics including radar, satellite, communications, and electronic warfare,” read the report.
It continued, “The growing need for high power in the very high frequency (VHF), ultrahigh-frequency (UHF), and microwave bands has led to the demand for devices that can supply tens to hundreds of watts at RF frequencies up to 10 GHz and beyond. This demand is expected to drive the future market growth of GaN.”
6-inch and above GaN wafer segment
The 6-inch and above GaN wafer segment of the GaN semiconductor device market, by wafer size, is projected to register the higher CAGR during the forecast period. Wafers in this size range offer manufacturers the ability to increase productivity and produce a large number of devices in a single batch.
This, in turn, helps to bring down the overall cost of manufacturing 6-inch wafers making them one of the most cost-effective GaN wafers available in the market. This has become one of the main reasons owing to which the companies have been developing their semiconductor devices based on GaN wafers of 6-inches and above in recent years.
APAC is expected to hold the largest share of the GaN semiconductor device market in 2026. APAC has witnessed exponential growth in industrial activities in terms of the number of foundries, wafers, fabrication, assembly, testing, and packaging facilities in Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, and South Korea.
The region is also witnessing an increase in the manufacturing and imports of electric vehicles along with the growing domestic consumption of these products. With the increase in the adoption of electric vehicles and the establishment of charging stations for the same in the region, the opportunities for the GaN semiconductor device market are expected to accelerate in the future.