Mainstream in mass prodcuing smartphones' switches from Soitec's RF SOI

Now, chip manufacturers are relying on SOI technology to offer the best price/performance ratio and enable next-generation smartphones.

Soitec’s engineered substrates are at the heart of RF integrated circuits, enabling chip manufacturers to integrate various functions on the same die, bringing down the overall system cost. An RF SOI substrate features an active layer on which CMOS transistors are built, isolated from a high-resistivity silicon base layer. This reduces noise and interference, helping the finished die reach its target performance in terms of signal integrity, handling RF power and integration density. SOI technologies enable devices to reach a figure of merit for on-series resistance and off-equivalent capacitance below 200 fs (femtoseconds) with potential for further reduction. This directly relates to improved device performance and smaller die size.

Another driver of SOI’s growth is the evolution towards more performance required for overhauling wireless networks from 3G to 4G/LTE and further LTE Advanced using carrier aggregation. Indeed, SOI technologies exceed stringent linearity requirements such as intermodulation distortion (IMD) far beyond -110 dBm, helping to avoid interference with other networks.

RF SOI technologies enable the device integration, cost effectiveness and high performance needed for high-volume 3G and LTE
applications
,” said Bernard Aspar, vice president, Communication & Power Business Unit at Soitec. “RF, with over 100 percent revenue growth last year, remains a strategic market in which we have been continuously investing for more than a decade. Soitec is the leading supplier of engineered wafers and we are continuing to pioneer strong innovations with our partners to catch the next wave of growth in the RF market.”

On the strength of recent demonstrations, power amplifiers will likely be the next RF components based on SOI. The technology enables highly tunable amplifiers to address multi-region requirements on a single platform. In addition, Soitec’s RF SOI substrates offer a path towards further integration, such as more mixed-signal and digital content.

Soitec’s broad offerings allow RF device manufacturers to select an engineered substrate that aligns best with their market strategies - from low-cost GSM handsets to multi-band, multi-mode LTE smartphones and tablets.