An epitaxial wafer also known as, epi wafer, is a wafer of semiconducting material made by epitaxial growth (epitaxy) for use in photonics, microelectronics, spintronics, or photovoltaic. The epitaxial layers consist of various compounds such as gallium nitride (GaN), gallium arsenide (GaAs), or some combination of the elements gallium, indium, aluminum, nitrogen, phosphorus or arsenic. High electron mobility, low switching losses, and fewer lattice mismatches are some of the key advantages of GaN Substrate, which are leading its adoption in industries such as power electronics and optoelectronics.

Furthermore, GaN epitaxial wafers are developed by hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) or metal organic chemical vapor phase deposition (MOCVD) method, and can be used as an ideal and excellent substrate for high frequency, high speed, and high power devices. The GaN epitaxial wafers are developed by several firms such as Aixtron, EpiGaN nv, Sciocs, and Semiconductor Wafer Inc.

Rising adoption of LEDs is leading to rising demand for GaN epitaxial wafers

GaN is widely implemented in radio frequency devices, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and power electronics, due to its ability to operate at high frequency and high temperature. Increasing adoption of LEDs is a major factor boosting growth of the GaN epitaxial wafers market. Furthermore, advancement in GaN technology has led to the development of efficient GaN substrates with free macro defect density and low defect density. Hence, GaN substrates can increasingly be used for realizing LEDs with a wafer diameter from 2 inch up to 6 and 8 inch. Increasing adoption of LEDs is expected to drive growth of the GaN epitaxial wafers market during the forecast period. However, competition from Sic in high-voltage semiconductor applications and high product cost are factors which are expected to hinder growth of the global GaN epitaxial wafers market during the forecast period.

Global GaN Epitaxial Wafers Market Regional Insight:

In terms of geography, Asia Pacific is expected to be dominant in the global GaN epitaxial wafers market during the forecast period. This is owing to wide utilization of GaN-based transistors in the defense and military sector, increasing demand for LEDs from various industries such as consumer electronics & automotive and increasing renewable energy generation in the region. For instance, in June 2019, Samsung announced the launch of The Wall Luxury GaN micro-LED display configurable from 73” in 2K to 292” in 8K. Moreover, Asia Pacific region is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period, which can be attributed to high adoption of innovative technologies such as epi-nucleation, buffer structure technology etc. in countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and India. Key players in this region are focused on offering new products in order to meet increasing needs and requirements of consumers. For instance, in June 2019, Xiamen San'an Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd., a China-based pure-play wafer foundry with its advanced compound semiconductor technology platform, announced the launch of its 150mm gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon wafer foundry services, which is intended for the latest high voltage DC/AC and AC/DC power electronics applications worldwide.

Global GaN Epitaxial Wafers Market Competitive Background:

Key players in the global GaN epitaxial wafers market are RF Globalnet, Aixtron, EpiGaN nv, Sciocs, Semiconductor Wafer Inc. IGSS GaN, SweGaN, NTT Advanced Technology Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., and ALLOS Semiconductors GmbH among others.

Global GaN Epitaxial Wafers Market Taxonomy:

On the basis of product type, the global GaN epitaxial wafers market is segmented into: