KnowMade highlights scaling of GaN-based architectures for strategic markets - Semiconductor Today

KnowMade's latest report on gallium nitride (GaN) technology, patents, and R&D activities highlights the growing momentum of the global GaN ecosystem, which is expanding beyond traditional application... Read original →

Gallium nitride is transitioning from a niche optoelectronic and RF material into the foundational platform for AI infrastructure and high-efficiency computing, triggering cascading effects across silicon photonics, advanced packaging, and bio-integrated electronics. Upstream substrate suppliers now grapple with defect control and cost pressures, while downstream system designers overhaul power delivery and optical interconnect architectures. With U.S. and EU policies pushing semiconductor localization, GaN supply chains face heightened compliance costs—particularly around manufacturing and testing nodes in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, China. Infineon and EPC leverage vertical integration to dominate high-end power devices, while Samsung and Lumileds pivot micro-LEDs toward AR/VR and quantum sensing, merging display tech with next-gen computing. Within 18 months, reliability breakthroughs in GaN-on-Si could displace select SiC applications, and ScAlN-based heterostructures may enable ultra-low-power AI accelerators, reshaping the power semiconductor landscape.