BAW RF filters: Key market research findings
- APAC dominates the market geographically
- Technological convergence to reflect positively on the market by 2020
- Key vendors—Avago Technologies, Qorvo, and TDK
Technavio’s market research analysts estimate the global BAW RF filter market to reach almost $29 billion by 2020. The market is driven primarily by the proliferation of smartphones and tablets. Advanced wireless technology has made the development of new radio frequency (RF) features mandatory in smartphones and tablets. The increase in shipments in the tablet and smartphone segments over the last five years has augmented the demand for filter technologies, especially bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters, due to their compatibility with higher bandwidth frequencies and growing proliferation of 4G/long term evolution (LTE) networks. In 2015, the APAC region dominated the global BAW RF market by holding around 36% of the overall market share. The market is thriving in this region due to the low availability of high-speed networks such as 3G and LTE and less awareness among individual users regarding 4G network benefits. An increasing demand for Wi-Fi routers and USB sticks stimulated by the rolling out of LTE in India and China is likely to propel growth the BAW RF market in APAC during the forecast period.
The new market research report from Technavio presents a breakdown and analysis of the BAW RF filter segments based on application.
“Growing technological convergence in the LTE network is an upcoming trend in the BAW RF filter market across the globe. The availability of multiple features on a single platform is possible because of rapid technological advances in electronic devices such as notebooks, laptops, smartphones, and ultrabooks. These devices are being used increasingly as multifunctional terminals that offer a range of new applications on a single platform. Hence, technological convergence is likely to reflect positively on the global BAW RF filter market during the forecast period,” says Sunil Kumar Singh, Lead Analyst, Hardware & Semiconductor, Technavio Research.
During 2015, the smartphones segment dominated the market by occupying more than 95% of the market share. RF filters reduce interference and noise from different RF sources during the transmission and reception of signals and hence, are key components in a smartphone. An increase in the number of bands supported by smartphones and technological advancements in LTE networks is expected to boost the demand for RF solutions with improved performance and reduced size. The smartphone segment is projected to grow at a rapid pace because of its rising demand with an improved scope of functions and deployment of next-generation LTE wireless networks.
The key vendors in the global BAW RF filter market are Avago Technologies, Qorvo, and TDK. The global BAW RF filter market is consolidated due to the presence of high entry barriers in the market as a substantial capital investment in research, innovation, and deployment of advanced RF components is required. The competition among the existing vendors is expected to intensify during the forecast period because of the creation of bigger entities through large M&As.
A more detailed analysis is available in the Technavio report, Global BAW RF Filter Market 2016-2020.
