financial news ♦ compound semiconductor ♦ news digest in Millions of Pounds (£)
Wafer inventories remain at low levels throughout the supply chain with no evidence of inventory build-up.
Optoelectronic
Optoelectronic components cover a broad range of applications including data communications, consumer applications, solid state lighting and CPV solar cells.
Wireless products include a wide range of components used for radio frequency (RF) communications in mobile handsets, smartphones, personal computers, tablet PCs and a host of other mobile devices.
Mobile technologies are currently used by more than half the world’s population, with industry analysts predicting handset volumes to increase to around 1.3bn in 2010 and 1.6bn by 2013. Growth of smartphones which employ significantly higher gallium arsenide (GaAs) content than standard handsets, is expected to account for 19% of all handset sales in 2010, increasing to over 50% by 2014.
Growth in compound semiconductor demand is further driven by new applications for WiFi such as machine-to-machine, point-to-point and tablet PCs as well as network operators introducing low- end 3G products to migrate their customers to 3G networks, effectively increasing the compound semiconductor chip content in low-end handsets.
The compound semiconductor content in smartphones is continuing to grow and ranges from $2 to $4 in low-end handsets up to $9 in sophisticated high-end devices.
IQE is in production with all leading wireless chip companies and was recently awarded “TriQuint’s supplier of the year for 2010” based on production support and development of new products. TriQuint is known to supply the majority of wireless chips for a number of smartphones including iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, HTC 4G EVO and the Blackberry Tour.
Other customers have significant content in RIM, Samsung and other leading handset manufacturers with IQE providing BiHEMT wafers for better power performance and longer battery life.
Optical fibre communications have been used for many years for long-haul voice and data communications. Today’s PCs and peripheral devices are increasingly data hungry to the extent that communications between such devices require the same capacity that just 10 years ago would have been sufficient to carry over one million voice calls across the Atlantic. Over the next four years, optical cables are predicted to replace copper cables for interconnecting a wide range of devices. Demand for semiconductor lasers (VCSELs) is anticipated to grow from around 1m units in 2009 to over 650m units in 2014.
In addition to optical communications, VCSELs are beginning to be deployed as finger-navigation devices by a number of leading handset manufacturers such as RIM, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and HTC.
Data storage devices (from CDs to Blu-ray discs) utilise lasers and optical detectors made using semiconductor wafer products. The storage capacity of a digital recording disc is determined by the wavelength (colour) of light emitted by the read/record laser with audio/data CDs operating at the red end of the spectrum and Blu-ray at the blue end. Modern devices such as Blu-ray HD video and games consoles employ multiple laser components to allow backward compatibility. Shipments of Blu- ray optical storage devices are expected to grow from 40m units in 2009 to over 200m units in 2012.
Red green and blue lasers are also used to generate images in an emerging range of pico projectors. It is anticipated that pico projectors will become commonplace within handset and tablet PCs within the next five years in the same way that cameras have become during the last five years.
The drive for sustainable generation of electricity is expected to yield a mix of alternative power options
August/September 2010
www.compoundsemiconductor.net 185
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