The move signifies the strong growth in data centre and high-speed wired/wireless applications that can leverage the scale advantages of a 300mm manufacturing footprint. By tapping into GF’s 300mm manufacturing expertise, clients will be able to take advantage of increased production efficiency and reproducibility for high-speed applications such as optical networks, 5G millimeter-wave wireless communications and automotive radar.
GF is the industry leader in the manufacturing of high-performance SiGe solutions on its 200mm production line and the migration of 9HP, a 90nm SiGe process, to 300mm wafers manufactured at GF’s Fab 10 in East Fishkill, N.Y is seen as continuing that continue that leadership, while establishing a 300mm foothold for further roadmap development, ensuring continued technology performance enhancements and scaling.
“The increasing complexity and performance demands of high-bandwidth communication systems have created the need for higher performance silicon solutions,” explained Christine Dunbar, vice president of RF business unit at GF. “GF’s 9HP is specifically designed to provide outstanding performance, and in 300mm manufacturing will support our client’s requirements for high-speed wired and wireless components that will shape future data communications.”
GF’s 9HP continues a history of high-performance SiGe BiCMOS technologies designed to support the massive growth in extremely high data rates at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies for the next generation of wireless networks and communications infrastructure, such as terabit-level optical networks, 5G mmWave and satellite communications (SATCOM) and instrumentation and defense systems.
The technology offers superior low-current/high-frequency performance with improved heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) performance and up to a 35 percent increase in maximum oscillation frequency (Fmax) to 370GHz compared to its predecessors, SiGe 8XP and 8HP.
Client prototyping of 9HP on 300mm at Fab 10 in East Fishkill, N.Y. on multi-project wafers (MPWs) is underway now, with qualified process and design kits scheduled in 2Q 2019.