Guys, we're talking completely different markets here. The...

Guys, we're talking completely different markets here. The biggest use of GaN is in power devices, and the Infineon acquisition was in this category.

GaN is a wide band gap semiconductor material. It has a band gap of about 3.4 eV as apposed to the 1.1 eV band gap of Si and 1.4 eV of GaAs. These differing band gaps are in large part what give the various semiconductor materials their particular properties. In the case of GaN, when used to make LEDs the relatively wide band gap causes it to emit (luminesce) in the blue - violet end of teh visible spectrum.

The wide band gap also enables higher voltage ratings in power-electronic devices. This has become very important in recent times due to the rise of electric vehicles, which is main reason why GaN has suddenly become big business.