Compound Semiconductors’ High-speed Communication Capabilities Finding Opportunities in Telecom Applications
The research highlights the importance of compound semiconductors (CS) in communication systems, emphasizing their advantages over elemental semiconductors such as silicon. The study provides an overview of CS technology, the global scenario, application diversity, and growth roadmap.
CS materials, such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), indium phosphide (InP), and silicon germanium (SiGe), offer higher frequencies, temperatures, electron mobility, and superior optical/electronic properties. These intrinsic properties make CS ideal for high-speed communication systems, including satellite communications, wireless networks, and fiber-optic networks.
CS is used in the production of high-speed transistors and laser diodes, enabling high-speed digital circuits and fiber-optic communication systems. GaN and GaAs find applications in 5G networks, offering superior efficiency and wide frequency bandwidth, while indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) and InP are used in sub-terahertz communication systems, enabling ultra-high data rates for future wireless communication applications, including 6G networks. InP and GaAs are employed in high-speed optical communication systems, facilitating the development of high-performance lasers and photodetectors.
The United States, European Union (Netherlands, Germany, and France), United Kingdom, China, Japan, and South Korea invest heavily in CS technologies to develop domestic supply chains owing to their heavy reliance on 5G and high-speed optical fiber networks. The CS industry anticipates strategic alliances and mergers and acquisitions as integral components of its operational framework.
