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As Xiaomi was launched in the new product launch conference on February 13, in addition to launching the Xiaomi 10 series, it also announced that it would use gallium nitride (GaN) as the raw material charger. For a time, the original topic of GaN in the field of radio frequency was quickly spread to the battery industry.
GaN is an extremely stable compound, a hard and high melting point material with a melting point of up to 1700℃. At the same time, GaN has a high electron density and electron velocity, and its high ionization is also the highest among the three-five-group compounds, so it is favored by high-frequency and high-power electronic products.
Source: Qorvo
GaN Currently, its main applications are in the two major fields of microwave radio frequency and electricity. Specifically, microwave radio frequency includes applications such as 5G communication, radar warning, satellite communication, etc.; electricity includes smart grid, high-speed rail transit, new energy vehicles, consumer electronics, etc.
RF field
GaN RF components are characterized by high frequency, high power, wide bandwidth, low power consumption and small size. They can effectively save PCB space in the 5G generation, especially in the internal space of the mobile phone, and achieve good power consumption control.
In 5G products, GaN is mainly used in Sub-6GHz base stations and small base stations with millimeter wave (above 24GHz). Yole estimates that the GaN RF market will grow from US$645 million in 2018 to US$2 billion in 2024, with a CAGR of 21%, which is mainly driven by the two major areas of telecommunications infrastructure and national defense, and satellite communications, wired broadband and RF also contribute to certain contributions.
Source: Yole
In satellite communications requiring high-frequency and high-power output, the market estimates that GaN will gradually replace GaAs as a new solution. In the cable TV and civil radar market, the cost of GaN is still high compared to LDMOS or GaAs materials, and the situation of large-scale replacement in the short term is not easy to see.
is mainly dominated by companies from the United States and Japan in the GaN RF field. Among them, American businessmen Cree ranks first, and Japanese businesses such as Sumitomo Electric, Toshiba , Fujitsu and other Japanese companies are following closely behind. Chinese manufacturers such as Sanan Optoelectronics, Hit High-tech , and Huajin Chuangwei have some intimate positions in this field, but they have a big technological gap compared with international manufacturers.
Power
At a voltage of about 600 volts, GaN has obvious advantages in power management, power generation and power output, which makes GaN material power products thinner and more efficient, and the GaN charging plug is small in size, high in power, and supports PD agreements, and has the opportunity to unify the charger market for NB and mobile phones in the future.
27w GaN charging plug (left) VS Apple 30W charging plug (right) (Picture: Charging head network)
Due to the differences in material characteristics, silicon has advantages in high voltage and high power higher than 1200V, while GaN-made products are more suitable for applications ranging from 40 to 1200V, especially at 600V/3KW. Therefore, in the fields of servers, motor drives, UPS, etc., GaN can challenge the status of traditional MOSFETs or IGBTs.
Source: Infi neo n
Yole expects the output value of the GaN power supply market to exceed US$350 million in 2024, with a CAGR of 85%. Among them, GaN fast charging is the main force in promoting high growth of the industry. In addition, GaN is expected to penetrate into automotive, industrial and telecommunications power applications.
From the production side, GaN power semiconductors have begun to be shipped in small quantities, but because their price is too expensive, it is the main factor affecting the current development limitation. The price is not affordable because GaN chips are still mainly produced by wafer factories with 6 inches or less, and there has not yet been a scale effect. If costs can drop significantly in the future, market demand will explode.
In the GaN power field, the market is mainly led by Infi neo n, EPC, GaN Systems, Transphorm, and Navitas. Its products are manufactured by TSMC, Episil, and X-FAB. Among China's emerging foundries, Sanan Optoelectronics and HiTe Technology have the ability to mass produce GaN power components.
Although GaN has many advantages, because the product price is relatively high, this is the main reason why consumer electronic products are not widely used. On the contrary, in industries such as satellites and military that are low in price sensitivity, GaN components are extremely attractive to them.
However, from the cooperation between STMicroelectronics and TSMC, it can be seen that in the 5G generation, GaN has become an indispensable and important raw material, especially in the field of automotive and electrical appliances (compared with consumer electronics such as mobile phones, the price sensitivity is low), and it will be one of the key areas that international manufacturers have entered.
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