update technology
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IQE prepares to thrive in
a buoyant market
Soaring sales of VCSELs for optical links in PCs and handsets, coupled to the
launch of ultra-efficient multi-junction solar wafers and the introduction of next-
generation wireless products could bolster IQE’s revenue in the coming years.
Richard Stevenson reports.
F
or IQE there is good reason to look forward to the Up until recently, IQE has had minimal involvement in the
future. It is serving a compound semiconductor LED sector, but it could now start to tap into this market
industry that is expected to enjoy double-digit growth in thanks to its acquisition of UK start-up NanoGaN. The
the coming years, and some of its products are operating University of Bath spin-out has a novel nanotechnology for
in sectors that could grow even faster. making GaN substrates, and the promise of low-cost
production processes may allow this platform to be used
Both of these trends were discussed on 15 December at for high-power LED manufacture.
a Technology Update meeting attended by IQE at College
Hill, London. Philippe Roussel from Yole Développement Today IQE generates a substantial proportion of its
kicked-off the presentations with an overview of the state revenue from the sale of epiwafers for wireless products,
of the compound semiconductor industry, and this was a market that Roussel tips for growth, thanks to the roll
followed by presentations from several players in the out of new wireless applications. He did not evaluate this
supply chain, including UK solar start-up Quantasol and growth in terms of the dollar, but he said that the volumes
the US-based manufacturer of GaAs-based wireless of GaAs semi-insulating substrates that are used
products, Anadigics. exclusively for manufacturing these types of products will
enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent.
Roussel had some good news for everyone involved in the
compound semiconductor community: revenues will grow
in all the major sectors, and total global sales for
compound semiconductor chips will increase from $12-13
billion in 2008 to just over $20 billion in 2014.
According to him, the LED market is outpacing overall
growth, and by 2014 it will be worth $10 billion, almost
twice the value that it is today. The main driver behind this
high compound annual growth rate of 15 percent is the
increasing deployment of LEDs in automobile headlamps,
forms of solid-state lighting and types of displays. Roussel
says that these applications require ultra-high-brightness
LEDs with an output of at least 1W, and he predicts
revenue from this particular class of LED to rocket from
$280 million in 2009 to $3.1 billion by 2014. These high-
performance emitters will command a very hefty price tag:
in 2014 their market share, in terms of volume, will be less
than 2 percent, but they will account for more than 30 The French market analyst Yole Développement is predicting growth for
percent of total LED revenue. all the major sectors within the compound semiconductor industry.
Credit: Yole Developpément
January/February 2010
www.compoundsemiconductor.net 15
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