Renesas Electronics has announced new objectives to strengthen its compound semiconductor business, which includes opto devices formed by compound semiconductors such as GaAs (gallium arsenite), and microwave devices. The company plans to acquire and retain global market share with photocouplers, RF (radio frequency) switch ICs and other focused products and launch new GaN (gallium nitride)-based semiconductor products by March 2011.
The company expects the market of compound semiconductors to grow by an average annual growth rate of 8% from FY2010 to FY2012, and by achieving the objectives, it aims to expand its compound semiconductor business by 11%, exceeding the market growth rate. The company also plans to increase its compound semiconductor sales in FY2012 by 1.2 times.
The company aims to gain the largest shares of photocouplers and optical storage devices and expand its market shares of RF switch ICs and GaAs low-noise field effect transistors. The company also plans to accelerate its development of high-temperature operation, low-power and small-sized package to address the demand from the "green" markets such as hybrid and electric vehicles, LED lighting systems and electric meters.
The company intends to further expand its sales of photocouplers by combining them with its insulated gate bipolar transistors, suitable for high-voltage and high-current output, and microcontrollers, in a single kit. The company will also strengthen its overseas marketing function by doubling the headcount.
For RF switch ICs that enable transmit-receive switching and 3G-GSM-mode switching and antenna switching on electric devices with an RF function such as mobile phones and notebook PCs, the company has plans to adopt a new transistor that offer low loss, and will also offer products in small-sized packages.
The company also aims to offer its RF switch IC products equipped in a small package or as a bare die, and expand its RF switch IC business through collaboration with chipset vendors in the US, Europe and Taiwan to provide reference designs for system manufacturers.
The company fabricates a circuit by stacking GaN layers on a Si substrate. This method claims to bring a realisation of larger wafers, measuring 6inches or more, and enables production of semiconductor devices at low-cost.
The company plans to first launch its GaN-based products with high functionality for the market of cable television amplifiers. The company also aims to increase its shares in the markets of photocouplers and RF switch ICs, and expand its compound semiconductor business with the newly developed GaN-based products by cultivating markets that require high power and high frequency, such as CATV amplifiers, microwave and millimeter wave devices.
