Gallium arsenide is the second generation semiconductor material, which is mainly used in wireless communication and other fields. According to the Research Report of strategy analytics, in 2018, the total output value of the global GaAs component Market (including the component output value of IDM manufacturers) was about 8.87 billion US dollars, reaching a record high, with a year-on-year growth of 0.45% compared with that of 8.83 billion US dollars in 2017. According to yole, from 2018 to 2024, the global GaAs component market has an average annual compound growth rate of 10%, including 3% CAGR in microelectronics and 54% CAGR in optoelectronics. By 2024, the global GaAs component market will reach US $15.71 billion.

Gallium arsenide, the second generation semiconductor material, has a mature preparation process, and its downstream application is mainly communication
Integrated circuits are mainly divided into two categories: silicon-based semiconductors and compound semiconductors. Semiconductors with silicon as the substrate belong to the first generation of semiconductors, compound semiconductors with gallium arsenide as the substrate belong to the second generation, and compound semiconductors with gallium nitride as the substrate belong to the third generation of semiconductors. Silicon based semiconductor integrated circuits are mainly used in digital applications, such as microprocessors, logic ICs, memories, etc.; compound semiconductor integrated circuits are mainly used in analog applications, such as mobile communication, global positioning system, satellite communication, communication base station, national defense radar, aerospace, military weapons and other power type, low-noise amplifiers and other related MMIC integrated chips. At present, the second generation semiconductor localization is in the early stage. The third generation of semiconductors are mainly represented by silicon carbide (SIC) and gallium nitride (GAN). With its wide band gap, high thermal conductivity, high breakdown electric field, high radiation resistance and other characteristics, the third generation of semiconductors has advantages that the first two generations of semiconductors can't match in many application fields, and is expected to break through the development bottleneck of the first and second generation of semiconductors, with huge market application potential.
Figure 1: evolution of semiconductor materials
Since the 1950s, a variety of GaAs single crystal growth methods have been developed. At present, the main industrial growth processes include liquid sealed direct pull (LEC), horizontal Bridgman (HB), vertical Bridgman (VB) and vertical gradient solidification (VGF).
Figure 2: comparison of GaAs single crystal growth methods
Compared with the common silicon semiconductors, GaAs semiconductors have the characteristics of high frequency, radiation resistance and high voltage resistance, so they are widely used in the mainstream commercial wireless communication, optical communication and advanced national defense, aviation and satellite applications, among which the popularity of wireless communication is an important driving force for the generation of gallium arsenide OEM business model. Taking the mobile phone and wireless network (Wi Fi) as an example, the key components of the radio frequency module in the system are power amplifier, RF switch and low noise amplifier. At present, most of the RF power amplifiers are made of GaAs semiconductor. GaAs semiconductor has become an important key component of wireless communication, optical communication and advanced national defense, aviation and satellite due to its material characteristics. At the same time, it constructs wafer foundry technology, design process and verification mode different from silicon and other semiconductors to meet the rapid development of wireless communication system, thus maintaining the exclusivity and uniqueness of its field.
In terms of current technology trend and development level, GaAs is mainly used in communication field and national defense and aerospace field, accounting for 60% and 10% respectively.
Figure 3: breakdown of GaAs industry in 2018 (unit:%)
Looking forward to the next generation of 5g technology, its data transmission speed will be 100 times of the current 4G LTE. At present, only GaAs power amplifier can cope with such fast data transmission, and will further widen the cost performance gap between GaAs and silicon process power amplifier.
In recent years, the rise of the concept of Internet of things (IOT) has led to the rapid growth of wireless communication and automotive anti-collision radar applications, and the ratio of digital consumer electronics products with wireless transmission function has been increasing year by year. Gallium arsenide applications can be said to have quite healthy growth space. In addition, compound semiconductors will continue to play a key role in the communication and optoelectronic components market, such as III-V semiconductor Laser has the advantages of small size and high integration, and is widely used in industry and commercial fields. Among them, surface laser (VCSEL) is the most suitable for mass production. It is expected to develop new applications in biometrics, virtual reality (AR / VR) and automotive anti-collision system (ADAS), and will become an important key component of GaAs in mobile devices in the future.
The total output value of GaAs in the world has reached a record high, and the products are mainly Microelectronics
In terms of the wafer size of GaAs, the output ratio of six inch wafer has exceeded 50% in the industry in 2008 and become the mainstream manufacturing size. According to the Research Report of strategy analytics, in 2018, the total output value of the global GaAs component Market (including the component output value of IDM manufacturers) was about 8.87 billion US dollars, reaching a record high, with a year-on-year growth of 0.45% compared with that of 8.83 billion US dollars in 2017.
Figure 4: Global GaAs component GDP growth in 2012-2018 (unit: US $100 million,%)
According to yole, at present, GaAs is mainly used in the field of microelectronics, accounting for 95.7%. Products in the field of microelectronics include HBT, PHEMT, BiHEMT, etc.; the proportion in the field of Optoelectronics is only 4.3%, and products in the field of Optoelectronics include LD, VCSEL, PD, etc.
Figure 5: Global GaAs product structure
The global GaAs industry chain has a mature division of labor and low participation in mainland China
1. Mature division of global GaAs industry chain
GaAs industry is the most upstream of substrate manufacturing, followed by the key