GlobalFoundries Fab 8 in Malta, NY will be able to make highly export-controlled chips.
Photo Credit: GlobalFoundriesGlobalFoundries (GF) just announced a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to supply chips from its Fab 8 in Malta, New York. The company currently supplies chips to DOD from its Fab 10 in East Fishkill, New York, and Fab 9 in Burlington, Vermont, both former IBM IBM sites. What this means is that Fab 8, GF’s most advanced domestic fab, will be able to make chips that are highly export controlled. After the site is accredited it will be able to join the list of “Trusted Foundry” sites. These are domestic semiconductor fabs that can assure integrity and confidentiality during manufacturing, and provide a secure flow for both classified and unclassified chips.
This is interesting because GF has a number of specialty production processes in its portfolio of offerings. The new agreement covers its 45 nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. SOI is a little different from the standard “bulk CMOS” process that other foundries use to make things like processor chips for your iPhone or PC. SOI chips are made using a layered silicon-insulator-silicon sandwich. The insulator is usually a buried layer of silicon dioxide, referred to as a “buried oxide layer.” This conveys several interesting properties to chips made with the process. In contrast to bulk CMOS where the substrate is a common electrical node for all of the transistors, SOI transistors are electrically isolated from the substrate. This means they are readily stacked, which means you can chain them in series to handle higher voltages and power levels. The buried oxide layer also reduces what are known as parasitic effects, which are usually caused by stray capacitance (stored electrical charges) or inductance (a tendency to resist the flow of electrical signals). Parasitic effects are a real challenge when you are making radio frequency (RF) devices, such as components used in wireless radios and associated infrastructure.
The number of radio frequency bands being used in new wireless networks is increasing, so designers of 5G smartphones or devices using newer versions of WiFi have to include more radio chips. Each time wireless carriers add new frequency bands, you have to include more RF front-end modules with multi-band amplifiers, switches, and filters. A typical smartphone might include more than 10 RF switches, so you would like to pack as much of this onto a single chip as possible. Thus the GF 45 nm SOI platform is very good for chips used in 5G mobile networks, especially ones operating in the new millimeter wave bands. It is also good for applications like automotive radar. The company has reported that more than 85% of the smartphones on the market incorporate RF chips manufactured by GF.
The SOI platform is also very good for making chips that consume low amounts of power, and for photonics applications for which you want to make devices that can transmit and receive light signals. SOI processes started out as a niche because the raw wafers were more expensive, but these costs have come down. Other foundries including Towerjazz, United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC UMC ), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Sony, and STMicroelectronics all offer RF SOI, but GF has made specialized markets like this a focus of its strategy.
American shortfalls in semiconductor manufacturing have been in the news lately, from Intel’s struggles with the most advanced processes to the shortages plaguing the auto industry. This latest news highlights some of the activity in Upstate New York. GF recently purchased an option on land surrounding the Malta location to give it more room for expansion, and Cree Inc CREE is constructing a $1 billion silicon carbide fab in Marcy, New York 91 miles to the west. The state is also trying to entice Samsung to build a new $17 billion fab in the state, instead of expanding its fab in Austin, Texas. That will depend on the level of incentives that get put in front of the company, but it would mean growth for a developing semiconductor cluster.
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February 15, 2021 at 09:00PM
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