Global Compound Semiconductor Market: The rising demand for mobile and wireless devices has been the key factor in the growth of compound semiconductors in past few years

The global compound semiconductor market is expected to grow from USD 32.0 billion in 2020 to USD 43.4 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 6.3 %. The market for compound semiconductor materials was mainly driven by optoelectronics devices and wireless technologies. Optoelectronic devices exhibit a great demand for compound semiconductors. The rising demand for mobile and wireless devices has been the key factor in the growth of compound semiconductors in past few years. Compound semiconductor materials have properties such as wide temperature limits, high electron mobility and lower power consumption which are useful in electronic devices and equipment. Compound semiconductor materials are also used in light emission applications such as light emitting diodes (LED) and lasers.

Due to high resistance to radiation and heat compound semiconductor materials are used in space applications where they are incorporated with solar cells mounted on satellites. Compound semiconductor materials are sensitive to magnetism and are hence used in sensing applications. Compound semiconductor materials are also used in optical data storage devices. In spite of so many applications, fragile crystal structure compared to silicon and higher manufacturing costs associated with compound semiconductor devices is anticipated to hinder the growth of the market in the next few years.

The major factor restraining the growth of the compound semiconductor market is the high expenditure involved in the complete industry processes in the supply chain. The total average expenditure per compound semiconductor device, of all the supply chain processes put together (including expenditure from both complete upstream and downstream), is much more than the average expenditure per pure silicon semiconductor device. The primary reason for this is that all processes are complex, new, employ advanced technologies, and require high-priced state-of-the-art equipment. Also, they lack familiarity and required expertise in manufacturing processes among the engineering community and executives of compound semiconductor industry players.

The increased usage of RF power in military, defence, and aerospace applications offers an opportunity for the growth of the compound semiconductor market in the future. The use of RF power devices in fields such as avionics and radar systems would help the growth of the market for military and aerospace applications. The use of InP and GaAs to develop newer and advanced products would further boost the growth of the military, defence, and aerospace applications in market. GaAs-based switches are used in military RF-based power devices in the MWIR band.

Some of the key manufacturers in the compound semiconductor materials market are Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Cree Inc., Dow Corning Corporation, Galaxy Compound Semiconductors Inc., Momentive and Nichia Corporation among others.

Asia Pacific exhibited the greatest demand for compound semiconductor materials market .Asia Pacific is also anticipated to be the fastest growing market for compound semiconductor materials owing to huge demand from wireless technologies and optoelectronics market. China and Japan are the leading countries in terms of demand in this region. Countries such as India, Taiwan and Korea are likely to offer huge opportunity for compound semiconductor materials market due to growing electronics and telecommunication industry. Asia Pacific was followed by North America. U.S. had the largest demand for compound semiconductor materials in this region. The demand is due huge market for wireless technologies, space applications and optoelectronic devices. In terms of demand, Europe exhibited the third-largest demand for compound semiconductor materials market.

Western European countries were the largest consumers of compound semiconductor materials in this region. Technological advancements in wireless technology coupled with solar cell industry have been driving force behind the growth of compound semiconductor materials market in this region. Rest of the World market had the smallest market share for compound semiconductor materials in past few years. However, the scenario in this region is anticipated to change owing to growing electronics and telecom industry coupled with increasing demand for power devices. Rest of the World is likely to show positive outlook for compound semiconductor materials over foreseeable future.