Look for some breakthrough FD-SOI and other excellent SOI-based papers coming out of the 2013 Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits in Kyoto (June 10-14). By way of explanation, VSLI comprises two symposia: one on Technology; one on Circuits. However, papers that are relevant to both are presented in “Jumbo Joint Focus” sessions. Here’s a …

SOI and other advanced substrate based technologies will be significant beneficiaries of the European Commission’s “New European Industrial Strategy for Electronics”, targeting the mobilization of €100 billion in new private investments. In addition to the recently announced €360M FD-SOI Places2Be project (which stands for Pilot Lines for Advanced CMOS Enhanced by SOI in 2x nodes, …

In the three months following Peregrine Semi’s announcement of the latest version of its UltraCMOS® process technology, STeP8 for RF Front End ICs, the company has followed with a steady stream of news. (The UltraCMOS technology is an advanced RF SOI process leveraging bonded silicon-on-sapphire (BSOS) substrates from Soitec.) Recent announcements include: a collaborative sourcing …

For more than 20 years, Silicon-on-Sapphire (SOS) technology—an advanced form of Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) processing—has been used in semiconductor manufacturing. Recently, SOS in the form of UltraCMOS® technology has been designed into high-volume applications that have made it the technology of choice for several demanding RF applications. This technology combines a highly resistive substrate with CMOS …

The FD-SOI design and manufacturing ecosystem has just gotten a €360M boost. A new 3-year public-private project involving 500 engineers from 19 members in seven countries is looking to enable volume manufacturing in Europe from 28nm down to 10nm. The Places2Be project (which stands for Pilot Lines for Advanced CMOS Enhanced by SOI in 2x …

An agreement between Soitec and GT Advanced Technologies is aiming to lower the cost of LED production and accelerate adoption in commercial and residential lighting. GT is developing an HVPE (high productivity hydride vapor phase epitaxy) system incorporating Soitec Phoenix Labs’ (a subsidiary of Soitec) unique and proprietary HVPE technology. This includes Soitec’s novel and …

Soitec‘s Smart Cut™ technology, best known for its role as the leading technology for producing SOI wafers, is now being leveraged to produce GaN substrates for high-performance LED lighting applications. Following a successful pilot line announced last year, Sumitomo Electric will now industrialize the product and invest in Smart Cut technology. Yoshiki Miura, general manager …

In a recent press release, the SOI wafer leader Soitec said that chips built on its SOI wafers were found in over half of the smartphones and tablets in the market worldwide. 50%? That’s a lot! How do they figure that? The answer: RF. With all the talk right now about FD-SOI for application processors, …

Following the recent news that Soitec has more than doubled production of bonded silicon-on-sapphire (BSOS) substrates (a flavor of SOI) to meet increased demand from its strategic partner, Peregrine Semiconductor, MagnaChip has expanded production of Peregrine’s STeP5 UltraCMOS® technology-based RFIC product line. Peregrine and MagnaChip announced the final qualification and high-volume production ramp of the …

If you want to cut through the noise surrounding the choices for 28nm and beyond, an excellent place to start is the SOI Consortium’s Fully Depleted Technology Symposium. As a member of the design and manufacturing communities, this is your chance to see and hear what industry leaders are actually doing. Planar? FinFET? The Consortium’s …