29 June 2018

TowerJazz announces RF SOI 65nm ramp in 300mm Japan fab

© Semiconductor Today Magazine / Juno PublishiPicture: Disco’s DAL7440 KABRA laser saw.

Specialty foundry TowerJazz (which has fabrication plants at Tower Semiconductor Ltd in Migdal Haemek, Israel, and at its US subsidiaries Jazz Semiconductor Inc in Newport Beach, CA and TowerJazz Texas Inc in San Antonio, TX, and at TowerJazz Japan Ltd) has announced a ramp for its radio-frequency silicon-on-insulator (RF SOI) 65nm process in its 300mm fab in Uozu, Japan. TowerJazz has signed a contract with long-term partner SOITEC of Bernin, near Grenoble, France (which makes engineered substrates including SOI wafers) to guarantee a supply of tens of thousands of 300mm SOI silicon wafers, securing wafer prices for the next few years and ensuring supply to its customers, despite a very tight SOI wafer market.

“We are delighted to see the strong adoption of 300mm RF SOI through this large capacity and supply agreement with TowerJazz to augment our already significant 200mm RF SOI partnership,” says SOITEC’s CEO Paul Boudre. “TowerJazz was the first foundry to ramp our RFeSI products to high-volume production in 200mm,” he adds.

With what are claimed to be best-in-class metrics, TowerJazz’s 65nm RF SOI process enables the combination of low-insertion-loss and high-power-handling RF switches with options for high-performance low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) as well as digital integration. The process can reduce losses in an RF switch, improving battery life and boosting data rates in handsets and Internet of Things (IoT) terminals.

According to market research firm Mobile Experts LLC, the mobile RF front-end market will grow from an estimated $16bn in 2018 to $22bn in 2022. TowerJazz says that its RF SOI technology continues to support this high-growth market and is poised to take advantage of next-generation 5G standards which will boost data rates and provide further content growth opportunities in the coming years.

TowerJazz has also announced its relationship with Maxscend Microelectronics Co Ltd of WuXi, China, a provider of RF components and IoT integrated circuits, ramping in this new technology.

“We chose TowerJazz for its advanced technology capabilities and its ability to deliver in high volume while continuously innovating with a strong roadmap,” comments Maxscend’s CEO Zhihan Xu. “We specifically selected its 300mm 65nm RF SOI platform for our next-generation product line due to its superior performance, enabling low insertion loss and high power handling,” he adds.

Tags: TowerJazz Soitec SOI

Visit: www.soitec.com

Visit: www.maxscend.com

Visit: www.towerjazz.com