In an interview with Compound Semiconductor, Tom Hausken from Strategies Unlimited described the market as "significant" as it generates billions of dollars and produces a wide range of products.
However, he said that he can appreciate how, when compared to sales of silicon – which is very cost-effective - the market amounts to a much smaller segment.
"You use compound semiconductors for electronics only when you need greater performance and this is usually for smaller volume applications where even silicon is expensive," Mr Hausken stated.
However, he continued by saying that products that make use of compound semiconductors are likely to experience strong growth in sales over the coming years, with high-brightness LEDs and thin-film solar cells leading the way.
Earlier this week, Gartner predicted that global semiconductor sales are likely to increase by up to 76.1 per cent when compared to figures from 2009.
