The US Gallium Arsenide Semiconductor Market is projected to grow from USD 156.1 million in 2026 to USD 262.2 million by 2031, at a CAGR of 10.9%.
Following the highlights, this report provides an evidence-based, demand-centric analysis of the U.S. GaAs market. It grounds every analytic statement in government publications or company press releases. The goal is to map how verified technology, policy and corporate actions change immediate demand for GaAs substrates, devices and assemblies across RF, satellite and defense segments.
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Growth Drivers
Commercial deployment of higher-frequency wireless (mmWave 5G and supporting infrastructure) requires GaAs-based pHEMTs and MMIC front-end components; companies continue to announce GaAs and GaN RF products aimed at those customers, directly increasing demand for GaAs substrates and foundry runs. Government CHIPS funding that targets compound semiconductor capacity for space and defense explicitly creates procurement pipelines for space-grade GaAs and related compound devices, pulling production forward. Finally, defense modernisation and satellite proliferation require radiation-hard GaAs and MMIC components—company roadmaps and trade filings show product tailoring for those contracts, driving steady enterprise demand.
Challenges and Opportunities
The principal headwind is raw-material concentration: DOE analysis documents high dependence on foreign gallium supply and risks to high-purity gallium for wafers—this constraint suppresses scalable price-stable production and forces manufacturers to prioritize customers, reducing flexible capacity. Regulatory export controls on advanced semiconductor equipment and materials (Commerce/BIS rules) complicate cross-border supply and OEM sourcing for GaAs tool chains, adding compliance costs but also creating onshore demand for domestic suppliers. Opportunity exists where CHIPS incentives and federal procurement lift create secured domestic contracts (space and defense) that absorb higher-cost, domestically produced GaAs wafers and MMICs—companies that align capacity to these contracts stand to capture immediate demand.
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Raw Material and Pricing Analysis
Gallium feedstock dynamics dictate GaAs wafer availability. The DOE’s Critical Materials assessment documents that primary gallium production and high-purity refining are geographically concentrated, exposing wafer supply to geopolitical and export-control shocks. Price volatility for high-purity gallium and competition for refined gallium in optics and photonics translate into higher input costs for GaAs wafer makers. Public corporate commentary from substrate manufacturers confirms sensitivity of margins and yields to substrate quality and trade restrictions; producers are therefore prioritizing higher-margin, mission-critical customers (defense, space, telecom infrastructure).
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Supply Chain Analysis
The GaAs supply chain is vertically split gallium refining ? GaAs crystal growth and wafer fabrication ? epitaxy (MBE/MOCVD) ? device MMIC/assembly ? system integration. Key U.S. hubs combine substrate makers (AXT) and device houses (Qorvo, MACOM), but several upstream refining and raw-material nodes remain offshore, creating logistical and regulatory dependencies. Logistical complexities arise from export controls on certain manufacturing equipment and from the need for qualified foundries for high-frequency MMICs; where CHIPS incentives fund domestic expansions, they materially shorten lead times and reduce import exposure for defense and space programs.
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Government Regulations
Jurisdiction | Key Regulation / Agency | Market Impact Analysis |
|---|---|---|
United States | Bureau of Industry and Security (Commerce) — export controls on semiconductor manufacturing items and advanced computing (2022–2023 rules and clarifications). | Tightened exports of SME and related technologies raise compliance costs and can restrict cross-border supply of GaAs processing equipment; this increases domestic sourcing demand and firms’ incentives to localize capacity. |
United States | U.S. Department of Energy — Critical Materials Assessment (2023). | DOE finds gallium supply concentration and highlights strategic risk; this underpins federal interest in securing domestic GaAs/Ga compound supply chains and raises priority for CHIPS investments. |
United States | Department of Commerce — CHIPS and Science Act program awards/PMTs. | Direct funding and PMTs for compound-semiconductor capacity (space/solar cell expansion) create guaranteed demand streams for GaAs-derived devices and wafers, accelerating domestic capacity additions. |
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Application — Radio Frequency (RF) Electronics
RF electronics represent a primary, verifiable demand channel for GaAs. Public product releases from major RF vendors document ongoing launches of GaAs pHEMTs, MMIC power amplifiers and front-end modules targeted at 5G, DOCSIS and SatCom infrastructure; Qorvo’s September 2024 24V power doubler (leveraging GaAs pHEMTs) is an explicit product example aimed at broadband infrastructure and contributes directly to demand for GaAs device fabrication and substrates. MACOM’s event briefings and product demonstrations for SATELLITE 2024 explicitly list GaAs power amplifiers and LNAs for Ku/Ka-band SatCom, showing corporate alignment of product roadmaps with satellite RF demand. The RF segment consumes GaAs at multiple value-chain points: high-purity wafers for MMIC fabrication, epitaxial layers for pHEMTs, and assembly/test services for modules. Demand is immediate and contract-driven: mobile-operator infrastructure rollouts, broadband CPE upgrades and SatCom constellations sign procurement schedules that translate into short-to-mid-term booked demand for GaAs wafers and device capacity. Public company product rollouts and trade show disclosures confirm this demand linkage.
End-User — Defense & Aerospace
Defense and aerospace procurement creates mission-critical demand that tolerates higher input costs and requires domestic supply assurance. MACOM and Qorvo disclosures emphasize GaAs and GaN MMICs, LNAs and RF subsystems designed for radar, EW and space applications—product portfolios and business-unit remarks show deliberate targeting of these contracts. Government CHIPS awards (e.g., BAE and Rocket Lab CHIPS engagements) and Department of Commerce notices demonstrate policy alignment to fund domestic compound semiconductor capacity that serves satellites and defense electronics, supplying the procurement pipeline that directly increases demand for GaAs wafers, MMICs and space-grade assemblies. Defense procurement cycles are longer but higher value; companies that secure design wins (verified by press releases and SEC filings) convert those wins into multi-year demand for GaAs substrates and in-house fabrication/foundry services. Public filings (MACOM acquisition activity and AXT investor statements) verify firms are positioning to serve that secured demand.
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Major U.S. players (from the Table of Contents) include AXT, II-VI, MACOM, Qorvo, Skyworks, Broadcom, Analog Devices, Mercury Systems, Teledyne, BAE Systems. Company profiles (public releases/filings):
AXT, Inc.
— leading domestic manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates (GaAs, InP). Public investor releases cite substrate revenue trends and emphasize GaAs/InP product lines.
Qorvo, Inc.
— provider of GaAs pHEMTs and MMICs with product launches (e.g., 24V power doubler Sept 2024) focused on broadband and RF infrastructure; public results and product pages show a broad GaAs portfolio.
MACOM Technology Solutions
— supplier of GaAs MMICs and RF amplifiers; completed the ENGIN-IC acquisition (Nov 2024) to strengthen MMIC design capabilities. MACOM press releases explicitly list GaAs product lines for SatCom and defense.
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Nov 2024 — MACOM[1] acquires ENGIN-IC (M&A). MACOM announced the acquisition to expand MMIC and module design capabilities (official press release).
Sep 2024 — Qorvo launches 24V power doubler for DOCSIS 4.0 (product launch). Qorvo’s newsroom detailed the GaAs pHEMT/GaN-based product targeting broadband infrastructure.
Jun 2024 — Rocket Lab (SolAero) signs PMT for up to $23.9M CHIPS funding to expand compound-semiconductor production (capacity addition). Rocket Lab’s corporate release stated the expansion would increase compound-semiconductor production by approximately 50% in three years.
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| Report Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Market Size in 2026 | USD 156.1 million |
| Total Market Size in 2031 | USD 262.2 million |
| Forecast Unit | Million |
| Growth Rate | 10.9% |
| Study Period | 2021 to 2031 |
| Historical Data | 2021 to 2024 |
| Base Year | 2025 |
| Forecast Period | 2026 – 2031 |
| Segmentation | Type, Wafer Size, Product Type |
| Companies |
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By Type:
Single-Element GaAs
Compound GaAs
By Wafer Size:
2 Inch
4 Inch
6 Inch
8 Inch and Above
By Product Type:
GaAs Integrated Circuits (ICs)
GaAs Photodiodes
GaAs Solar Cells
GaAs LEDs and Laser Diodes
GaAs RF Devices