Soitec, France, has begun mass production of 300mm radio-frequency silicon-on-insulator (RF-SOI) substrates for mobile communications. The 300mm version of Soitec’s RFeSI90 substrate is made possible by the company’s proprietary technologies, long-time experience with 200mm RF-SOI, and 300mm high-volume manufacturing expertise. These advanced wafers make possible new enhancements that enable more highly integrated ICs for 4G/LTE-advanced communications and the next generation of wireless technologies, including 5G.
The new wafers – based on a more advanced SOI process – offer higher levels of performance, such as better uniformity, a key parameter in achieving greater control of transistor matching for analog semiconductor designs. Better uniformity also allows designs with thinner transistors and additional process options to improve RonCoff performance, the figure of merit that is used to rate the performance of an RF switch.
This announcement comes at the same time that Soitec reports cumulative sales of one million 200mm RF-SOI wafers since 2009, hitting a milestone that underscores the pivotal role of RF-SOI in the booming wireless communications market. The one million RF-SOI wafers manufactured and shipped by Soitec have yielded approximately 20 billion ICs for front-end modules.
Soitec’s RF-SOI substrates are now integral in manufacturing antenna switches, antenna tuners, and some power amplifiers and WiFi circuits, meeting the demanding requirements of leading-edge smart phone ICs. They have been widely adopted by leading RFsemiconductor companies to address cost, performance, and integration needs for the 3G and 4G/LTE mobile wireless markets.
While Soitec has been shipping large volumes of 200mm RF-SOI wafers for many years, and continues to increase its 200mm production capacity, the company has been delivering 300mm RFeSI90 wafer samples for product qualification over the past 18 months.
Key partnerships with fabless semiconductor companies and foundries have been instrumental in achieving the production milestones and performance levels of Soitec’s new 300mm RF-SOI product. The large supply of 300mm wafers allows Soitec’s customers to expand their production capacities for RF-SOI devices and produce more highly integrated ICs.
