STMicroelectronics and MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. recently announced that they will expand 150mm GaN-on-Silicon capacity in ST production facilities in 2019, and 200mm capacity will be adjusted according to demand, aiming to serve the construction of global 5G communication network.

The global commercialization of 5G networks and the shift to large-scale MIMO (M-MIMO) antenna configurations are expected to significantly increase the demand for RF power products. Specifically, MACOM estimates that the number of power amplifiers required worldwide will increase by 32 to 64 times.

Marco Monit, president of STMicroelectronics Automotive and Discrete Devices Group, said: "While Silicon Carbide is ideal for certain power applications such as automotive power conversion, GaN-on-Silicon provides the necessary RF performance, scale and commercial cost structures to make 5G a reality. With this move ST and MACOM aim to unlock the industry bottleneck and fulfill the demand for 5G buildouts"

“By teaming with ST, we believe MACOM uniquely poised to provide it all - performance, cost and high-volume supply chain. We anticipate that our joint investment at this early stage in bringing on more capacity positions us to service up to 85% of the global 5G network buildout.” said John Croteau, President and CEO of MACOM.

For more information on MACOM's GaN-on-Silicon technology, please visit: https://www.macom.com/gan