Semiconductors are the foundation of electronic and Internet of Things (IoT) devices and telecommunication equipment.
They are materials that control the flow of electric current. Their unique property of having conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator makes them a key component in devices like diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits.
The demand for semiconductors is rapidly rising. They are used in smartphones, computers, appliances, medical equipment, and gaming hardware. Then there’s the growing popularity and usage of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which are further boosting advances in chip development and increasing semiconductor production.
The steady pace of 5G deployment is yet another factor driving the healthy demand trends for semiconductor chips.
The “fifth generation” of cellular network technology, which has been deployed by mobile operators worldwide since 2019, offers higher download speeds and lower latency, which allows for near-instantaneous communication.
The ultra-low latency and high reliability of 5G are extremely important for high-tech advances. The 5G network, meanwhile, relies on semiconductors to offer the benefits.
Semiconductor components are required here to process signals carrying the data. From base stations to smartphones and IoT devices, they are the chips that enable fast signal processing, wideband radio frequency (RF) transmission, and secure connectivity.
While 5G is still in the deployment stage, industry players have already begun to discuss the development of the sixth generation (6G). This, however, requires significant advances in semiconductor technology that can handle extremely low latency, ultra-high data rates, high energy efficiency, support for terahertz (THz) frequencies, and, of course, massive connectivity.
As companies and researchers work on enhancing semiconductor capabilities, a recent breakthrough in technology is showcasing huge potential to transform the way we communicate.
By supercharging 6G of mobile network to offer faster speeds, more efficient communication, and much wider coverage than the current generation (5G), this latest advancement promises a future that will make a lot of science fiction a reality.
Futuristic concepts such as feeling the touch of your loved ones who live across the continent or getting a healthcare diagnosis instantly without having to take a step out of your home all depend on the ability to communicate and transfer massive amounts of data at a much faster speed than what existing networks are capable of.
Physicists from the University of Bristol have found a novel way to accelerate the process to achieve this.
“Within the next decade, previously almost unimaginable technologies to transform a wide range of human experiences could be widely available.”
– Co-lead author Martin Kuball, Professor of Physics at the University of Bristol.
Talking about the possible benefits, which he noted are “far-reaching,” Kuball pointed to advances in healthcare with remote diagnostics and surgery, virtual classrooms, virtual holiday tourism, industrial automation for greater efficiency, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to improve road safety.
“The list of possible 6G applications is endless, with the limit just being human imagination. So our innovative semiconductor discoveries are hugely exciting and will help drive forward these developments at speed and scale.”
– Kuball
What this shift to 6G requires is a radical upgrade of semiconductor technology, systems, circuits, and associated algorithms.
The Rise of GaN-Based Transistors
In the rapidly advancing semiconductor sector, Gallium Nitride (GaN) is being utilized as the main semiconductor component.
This compound semiconductor is very hard, mechanically stable, and has a wide bandgap, making it suitable for high-power, high-frequency applications. After silicon, GaN is one of the most critical semiconductors, and it is seeing wider adoption across consumer electronics.
GaN is actually known for having a wider band gap compared to silicon. As a result, GaN devices can handle higher power densities, which leads to smaller and lighter designs and offers higher efficiency and better reliability.
In the current fifth-generation communication systems, these devices are increasingly becoming the new standard. And now, researchers are exploring it for 6G mobile and wireless infrastructure applications.
It is thanks to their high output power and high frequency operability that GaN-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have been revolutionizing wireless and military communication.
This has been primarily because of material parameters like a high critical electric field, good room-temperature mobility, and high saturation velocity. Innovations in field plate design have enhanced GaN HEMTs’ performance even further, leading to powers of up to 40 W mm−1 at 4 GHz and 60% power-added efficiency.
But this isn’t enough to enable future applications. GaN needs to be even quicker and more reliable, and emit greater power to enable the sixth generation of wireless communications.
Improvements in output power are required to maintain signal integrity over long distances, with ambitious projects already setting targets to achieve 81 W mm−1.
Against this backdrop, the international team of engineers and scientists developed and tested a new architecture that increased the capabilities of the special GaN amplifiers.
Such results were obtained by finding a latch effect in GaN, which unlocked a very high radio frequency device performance. This next generation of devices uses parallel channels that require sub-100nm side fins, a type of transistor that controls the flow of current passing through the devices.
In the latest research, the team used over 1000 fins with a width of sub-100 nm in SLCFETs to help drive the current. According to co-lead author Dr Akhil Shaji, Honorary Research Associate at the University of Bristol:
“We have piloted a device technology, working with collaborators, called superlattice castellated field effect transistors (SLCFETs).”
GaN-based SLCFETs have the potential to be used to achieve the high output power targets (81 W mm−1) set by projects. SLCFETs with up to ten stacked two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channels can actually provide a 10x increase in charge carriers compared to single-channel GaN HEMTs.
The new architecture, according to the study, offers a low knee voltage, making it perfect for large output voltage swings combined with a high current density.
SLCFETs have exhibited output power of over 10 W mm−1 at 94 GHz with 12 V on the drain and over 40% power added efficiency, supported by a current density of 4.8 A mm−1 with minimum dispersion and current collapse.
At this much power, the challenge comes in controlling heat dissipation, but without elevating the device footprint. While power can be enhanced by increasing the drain voltage (VDS), impact ionization can deteriorate SLCFET’s characteristics.
Then there’s transistor latching. Here, the device remains in the on state despite being biased in off-state gate bias (VGS), an effect well known in silicon-based devices. However, GaN’s high bandgap minimizes impact ionization. The researchers have previously confirmed the occurrence of impact ionization in SLCFETs’ on-state operation.
Enhancing GaN Performance Through the Latch Effect
Aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN/) or gallium nitride (GaN)- based SLCFETs show promise as the foundation for high-power RF amplifiers and switches in advanced radars of the future.
These transistors have shown the best performance in the W-band frequency range, which is from 75 GHz to 110 GHz. The science behind this, however, was unknown until now.
According to the study published in the journal Nature Electronics1, it is “a latch-effect in GaN, which enables the high radio frequency performance.”
With the effect now recognized, the team went on to find out just where it occurs. They used ultra-precision electrical measurements and optical microscopy simultaneously to study the effect further and better understand it.
Upon analyzing over 1,000 fins, the researchers located the effect on the widest fin. To further verify the observations, the team built a 3D model using a simulator.
“Current–voltage measurements, simulations, and correlated electroluminescent emission at the latching condition indicate that triggering of fin-width-dependent localized impact ionization is responsible for the latching,” noted the study, adding that this localization is attributed to the presence of variation in fin-width, which is due to variability in the fabrication process.
Next, the team tackled the reliability aspects of the effect for practical applications. The rigorous testing of the device over a long period of time showed that the latch effect has no detrimental effect on the device’s performance or reliability.
The latching condition, as per the study, is reversible as well as non-degrading and can lead to improvement in transistors’ transconductance characteristics, implying enhanced linearity and power in radiofrequency power amplifiers.
“We found a key aspect driving this reliability was a thin layer of dielectric coating around each of the fins.”
– Professor Kuball, the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies
Leading the Centre for Device Thermography and Reliability (CDTR), Kuball is helping develop next-gen semiconductor electronic devices for communications and radar technology, and to achieve net-zero emissions. CDTR also works on improving the thermal management of the device, its electrical performance, and reliability through wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors.
The main takeaway of the research, Kuball noted, “was clear – the latch effect can be exploited for countless practical applications, which could help transform people’s lives in many different ways in years to come.”
Now, in future work, the team will focus on further increasing the power density the devices can deliver. This will enable them to offer even higher performance and serve wider audiences.
Moreover, industry partners will help make these next-generation devices available commercially.
Invest in Semiconductor Innovation
When it comes to investing in GaN technology, MACOM (MTSI +0.07%) is one of the few US public companies that offers direct exposure to it. It utilizes both GaN-on-SiC and GaN-on-Si process technologies to enable next-generation system architectures across a wide range of applications. The company offers innovative low-noise amplifiers, GaN power amplifiers, and switches spanning frequencies from DC to over 100 GHz.
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc (MTSI +0.07%)
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings is a manufacturer of high-performance semiconductor products for telecommunications as well as other industries.
The company serves more than 6,000 customers annually with its broad product portfolio that incorporates analog, microwave, radio frequency (RF), mixed-signal, and optical semiconductor technologies. MACOM specializes in application, compound semiconductor fabrication, including GaAs, GaN, InP, and specialized silicon, analog and mixed-signal circuit design, advanced packaging, and back-end assembly and test.
The company has obtained several certifications, including the AS9100D aerospace standard, the IATF16949 automotive standard, the ISO9001 international quality standard, and the ISO14001 environmental management standard.
When it comes to MCOM’s market performance, with a market capitalization of $9 billion, MTSI shares are currently trading at $123.41. While MTSI is down 6.37% this year so far, it is up 46.7% from its early-April low and only about 15.5% away from the peak it hit just this year in January. With that, its EPS (TTM) is -1.22 and P/E (TTM) is -99.66.
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (MTSI +0.07%)
As for company financials, MACOM recently reported results for the fiscal second quarter ended April 4, 2025, in which it recorded a revenue of $235.9 million, a 30.2% increase from the same quarter in the previous year.
Income from operations was $34.9 million, or 14.8% of revenue, while net income was $31.7 million, or $0.42 per diluted share. Gross margin, in this period, jumped 2.7% to 55.2% while adjusted gross margin had a 0.4% jump to 57.5%.
Commenting on the company’s “solid Q2 performance,” President and CEO Stephen G. Daly praised the “exceptional teamwork across the entire MACOM organization” for enabling this success.
These numbers followed “a good start” to the fiscal year in Q1, in which Daly said, the company’s focus continues to be on serving customers and “building a stronger, broader and more competitive product portfolio.”
In 1Q25, MACOM’s revenue was $218.1 million, which jumped by 38.8% from 1Q24, and income from operations was $17.5 million, or 8% of revenue. In the previous quarter, the company actually reported a net loss of $167.5 million, or $2.30 loss per diluted share, due to making a one-time loss of $193.1 million on extinguishment of debt.
Now, for the fiscal third quarter ending July 4, 2025, MACOM is forecasting revenue between $246 million and $254 million. It is expecting the adjusted gross margin to be between 56.5% and 58.5% and adjusted earnings per diluted share between $0.87 and $0.91, utilizing a 3% non-GAAP income tax rate and 76.5 million fully diluted shares outstanding.
Amidst all this, MACOM continued expanding its business through investments. In Jan. this year, MACOM announced a strategic plan to invest as much as $345 million over a period of five years in its Massachusetts and North Carolina wafer fabrication facilities. The aim of the investment is to modernize existing facilities and introduce advanced manufacturing capabilities for RF, microwave, and millimeter wave technologies in order to enhance MACOM’s product offerings for datacenter, telecommunications, and defense industries.
In its Massachusetts facility specifically, the company will install 150mm GaN-on-SiC manufacturing capability.
“This plan will strengthen MACOM’s domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities,” said Daly, adding that it will also accelerate the company’s growth strategy.
This initiative is supported by a preliminary agreement with the CHIPS Program Office, which has dedicated a total of $39 billion to providing incentives for investment in facilities and equipment in the US. It proposes $180 million in funding and tax credits to MACOM under the CHIPS and Science Act.
A couple of months before this, MACOM acquired a fabless semiconductor company called ENGIN-IC, which designs advanced GaN MMICs (monolithic microwave integrated circuits) with the aim to better serve its target markets and gain a bigger market share.
The focus of ENGIN-IC is actually on serving the U.S. defense industry and boasts a product portfolio of over 60 standard MMICs and many more custom MMICs.
“ENGIN-IC’s exceptional wideband and high efficiency MMIC and module design expertise will enable us to better support our mutual customers,” said Daly at the time, while ENGIN-IC co-founder and CTO Stephen Nelson shared excitement to “be a part of MACOM’s efforts to lead the industry in GaN semiconductor processes and products.”
Conclusion
6G is the next generation of technology for wireless communications that promises even faster speeds and more efficient communication. Realizing this future of global communication, automation, and immersive virtual experiences, however, depends on advances in semiconductors. The semiconductor material, GaN, with its unique qualities of higher speed, lower resistance, and higher breakdown voltage, showcases its potential to revolutionize electronics and communication.
The latest breakthrough in GaN-based SLCFETs, which takes advantage of the novel transistor architectures and uncovers the mechanics of the latch-effect, pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in high-frequency semiconductor performance.
The innovation makes the path to 6G reality clearer than ever by revealing both scalable performance and robust reliability.
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Studies Referenced:
1. Kumar, A. S., Dalcanale, S., Uren, M. J., & others. (2025). Gallium nitride multichannel devices with latch-induced sub-60-mV-per-decade subthreshold slopes for radiofrequency applications. Nature Electronics. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-025-01391-5