< Key Hightlight >
The fifth-generation telecommunication technology, 5G, is more than a faster mobile experience to stream movies. It enables a universal connection between devices from automotive to remote robots. As the profitable business models and killer applications start to emerge, 5G is one of fastest growth markets, which will be over $720bn in 2030 and contribute to $2trn annual connectivity boost to global GDP.
The most revolutionary aspect of 5G network relies on the high frequency 5G technologies, i.e. mmWave 5G, which utilize spectrum from 26 GHz up to 40 GHz. At such high frequency, many technologies and devices are facing challenges as summarized in figure 1. The high-frequency signals result in significant transmission loss, require higher power and more efficient power supply, and generate more heat. The transmission loss is a pain point for the antenna design and radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits (ICs) for 5G applications. For low-frequency 5G, i.e. sub-6 GHz 5G, due to the high data transfer speed, reducing signal loss is also desirable.
Figure 1: Overview of challenges, trends and innovations for mmWave 5G, source: IDTechEx
With the future rise of mmWave 5G, low-loss materials will foresee a rapid growth and play an increasingly important role. In this report, we survey the landscape of the low-loss materials and benchmark their performance by five key factors, i.e. dielectric constant (Dk), dissipation factor (Df), moisture absorption, cost, and manufacturability. The scope for the report is shown in figure 2. Low-loss materials will not only be used as substrate or PCB board, but also for advanced packages. One of the strong trends is antenna in package (AiP); as we go higher in frequency towards mmWave, the size of the antenna elements will shrink and the arrays can be fitted into the package itself. This integration will also help shorten the RF paths, and thus minimize the transmission losses. AiP will need low-loss materials for the substrates (redistribution layers as well), electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, molded underfill (MUF) materials and more.
Figure 2: Scope of the low-loss materials covered in the report, source: IDTechEx
We highlight promising low-loss materials for 5G devices. These include:
- Low-loss thermoset materials: thermoset materials dominate the market for 3G/4G network devices. However, the high Dk and Df restrict their use in mmWave 5G. We focus on the strategies and R&D effort from key materials suppliers to reduce the Dk and Df for these materials.
- Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE): one of the most common materials for high-frequency applications such as Automotive Radar system and high speed / high frequency (HS/HF) board and connectors.
- Liquid crystal polymers (LCP): it has been adapted to make flexible boards for smartphone antennas. The market will continue to grow and expand into other applications.
- Low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC): the low Df and a wide range Dk for LTCC will accelerate the use of LTCC based components such as compact high frequency filters.
- Others: in order to optimise the performance for 5G systems, a vastly diversified material will be used, for example, hydrocarbon, poly (p-phenylene ether) (PPE, or PPO) and glass. Those alternative materials will take over a large share of the 5G materials market.
A ten-year forecast focusing on the low-loss materials area for 5G relevant devices are developed, as summarised in figure 3. The forecasts are segmented by:
- Frequency: sub-6 GHz 5G and mmWave 5G.
- Market segments: low-loss materials for infrastructure, smartphone and customer promised equipment (CPE). Among each segment, we calculate the low-loss materials areas as board materials for antennas, redistribution layers for beamforming ICs and other uses in advanced packages.
- Materials types: we estimate the market base on the evolution of low-loss materials for both sub-6GHz 5G and mmWave 5G.
Figure 3: Ten-year forecast of low-loss materials by frequency, market segments and materials types, source: IDTechEx
Based on the materials areas and price trend, we forecast the low-loss materials revenue for 5G devices from 2021 to 2031. The total market will be over 110 million USD by 2031, with an average annual growth rate of 28% from 2026 to 2031. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of different low-loss materials from different perspectives such as performance, technology trends, potentials, and requirements for large scale deployment. Importantly, the report presents an unbiased analysis of primary data gathered via our interviews with players across the supply chain, and it builds on our large database of 5G infrastructure and user equipment.
Figure 4: Ten-year forecast of low-loss materials in 5G by revenue. Source: IDTechEx
Low-loss MUS$ 5,995