LONDON — The global Gallium Arsenide device market grew by 17 percent last year to be worth $3.6 billion, outperforming the mainstream semiconductor market, according to market research group Strategy Analytics.

The top players in 2007 were RFMD, Skyworks and TriQuint, who between them took a 50 percent market share.

There were no European players in the top ten, following the acquisition of Filtronic plc by RFMD.

Seven out of the top ten ranked GaAs device manufacturers according to StrategyAnalytics were based in the U.S., including Avago Technology and M/A-COM. Mitsubishi Electric remained the largest Japanese supplier of GaAs devices, and it was joined by Eudyna Devices in the top ten. Win Semiconductor, a leading foundry, was placed tenth.

"Strong market growth was driven by demand from cellular handsets which we estimate to have represented 65 percent of the merchant market in 2007," noted Stephen Entwistle, VP Strategic Technologies Practice. "GaAs-based RF modules accounted for nearly 90 percent of the cellular handset market in 2007; and these modules will continue to be key to future mobile handset designs."

Strategy Analytics suggests that even though macroeconomic uncertainties will impact the primary end markets for diminishing year-on-year GaAs growth in 2008, the market leaders will strengthen their leadership as a result of the industry consolidation that has taken place over the past 12 to 18 months.

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