Applications of 5G will generate only symbolic rather than substantive economic benefits to suppliers of wireless compound semiconductor components devices such as radio frequency (RF) and power amplifier (PA) devices, with the devices most likely to be applied to low frequency band of sub-6GHz and small cells, according to industry sources.

The sources said that demand for GaAs-based devices will grow exponentially in the near future as 5G infrastructure small cells must be seamlessly connected to large-sized base stations, and 5G mobile devices will also see sharp increases in demand for PA in 2020-2021 in line with their multi-frequency trait.

But in 2019, PA will be mostly applied to small cells with low frequency band of sub-6GHz, as PA for 28GHz mmWave is still under development by most makers.

On another front, as a third-generation semiconductor material, GaN is especially suitable for application in the 5G era thanks to its features as high frequency and high electron mobility rate. Compound semiconductor foundry specialist Win Semiconductor has started small-volume production of GaN devices for use in 4G LTE base stations, and the company is cooperating with clients to develop 5G-use GaN components.

Industry sources said that 5G will co-exist with 4G for a long while, because it will take time for 5G-related software supply, business models, and hardware specs to become mature.

By: DocMemory
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