The past year has seen an industry struggling to make headway against tight budgets and overcapacity. But for some it has not all been doom and gloom, as the year looks set to close on an industry in better spirits than it has been for several years. Of course, there is insufficient room in this overview to do justice to all that has happened in the ever-diversifying business that is III-Vs.The year has seen some impressive progress in the commercialisation of advanced technology. New markets are opening up and designers are being supplied with the materials and devices to innovate exciting new systems level products and improve existing ones. For example, in two key areas of wide bandgap semiconductors: 2003 saw more than one company announcing commercial availability of genuine GaN substrates and SiC foundry services.The former should increase prospects for broader take up of, for example, violet lasers, while the latter offer improved performance RFICs.
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