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Soitec Announces Adoption of Fully Depleted Technology for Advanced Mobile Platforms
ST-Ericsson selects FD technology for upcoming NovaThor(TM) high performance, low power application processors
BERNIN, France, March 12, 2012/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Soitec (Euronext), a world leader in generating and manufacturing revolutionary
semiconductor materials for the electronics and energy industries, announced today that
ST-Ericsson, a leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, has selected planar fully
depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) technology for use in future mobile platforms.
Soitec's innovative substrates - with an extremely thin top layer which predefines
critical characteristics of the transistor - provide the foundation upon which fully
depleted transistors are built.
"Next-generation mobile consumer devices will need to deliver an even better user
experience and higher performance without sacrificing battery life," said Louis Tannyeres,
chief chip architect, ST-Ericsson. "Together with innovations in overall platform system
design, advances in process technology are key to delivering next-level performance and
higher power efficiency. The results of our work with STMicroelectronics on FD-SOI have
demonstrated that this technology is able to deliver these benefits in a cost-effective
manner, while allowing us to differentiate our solutions."
FD-SOI wafers from Soitec enable enhanced performance for NovaThor(TM) at much lower
battery usage - as much as 35 percent lower power consumption at maximum performance. For
consumers, this can translate into devices that provide four additional hours of
high-speed Web browsing or as much as a day of additional battery life.
"FD provides a low-risk option for semiconductor companies such as ST-Ericsson that
are seeking to take advantage of the benefits of a fully depleted transistor architecture
while leveraging existing design and manufacturing capabilities," said Paul Boudre, chief
operating officer of Soitec. "This announcement represents the industry's first step
toward fully depleted planar CMOS technology, years ahead of when alternative processes
will be available from foundries. We are positioned to provide the volume of qualified
wafer manufacturing required to enable the industry to speed the adoption of planar fully
depleted technology into mainstream mobile applications."
"STMicroelectronics and its partners Leti, Soitec and IBM have invested several years
of development in FD-SOI technology, and ST has recently demonstrated the strong
differentiation of this technology versus conventional bulk CMOS, both for
high-performance and low-power features on several IPs at 28nm and below," said Joel
Hartmann, STMicroelectronics assistant general manager, Technology R&D. "This combination
makes FD-SOI particularly suitable for wireless and tablet applications where it
essentially provides the fully depleted transistor benefits of FinFETs on a planar
conventional technology, while allowing advanced back bias techniques, which are not
available with FinFETs. We are delighted that it could be adopted by ST-Ericsson for their
next generation of products."
As innovative form factors push semiconductor manufacturers to move beyond 28nm
process nodes, it is becoming clear that traditional bulk CMOS process technology cannot
balance these attributes effectively. FD wafers enable a planar, fully depleted transistor
architecture - a breakthrough technology that empowers semiconductor companies to bypass
the bulk CMOS roadblock, enabling the efficient design of next-generation, lower power
processors for smartphones and mobile computing devices. This architecture is essential in
implementing transistor technology that solves - with less process complexity - the
scaling, leakage and variability issues that are associated with shrinking CMOS technology
starting at 28nm.
About Fully Depleted Value
FD wafers comprise an extremely thin layer of silicon over a buried oxide (BOx) layer.
This gives unique properties to the transistors built in this layer. These wafers are
ideally suited to mobile and consumer multimedia applications, enabling power savings of
up to 40 percent, compared to traditional bulk CMOS, at the same performance level.
Similarly, peak performance of processors built on fully depleted wafers can experience up
to 60 percent increase, depending on design optimizations. Exceptional performance is
maintained at very low power supply (sub-0.7V) so that ultra-low power operation of mobile
devices in many use cases can be envisaged.
Additionally, fully depleted wafers are processed with standard fab tools sharing many
process steps with a conventional, low-power bulk CMOS process. They also save 10 percent
of the steps required to fabricate the chips leading to a very competitive cost of
finished chip.
About Soitec
Soitec is an international manufacturing company, a world leader in generating and
manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials at the frontier of the most exciting
energy and electronic challenges. Soitec's products include substrates for
microelectronics (most notably SOI: Silicon-on-Insulator) and concentrator photovoltaic
systems (CPV). The company's core technologies are Smart Cut(TM), Smart Stacking(TM) and
Concentrix(TM), as well as expertise in epitaxy. Applications include consumer and mobile
electronics, microelectronics-driven IT, telecommunications, automotive electronics,
lighting products and large-scale solar power plants. Soitec has manufacturing plants and
R&D centers in France, Singapore, Germany, and the United States. For more information,
visit: http://www.soitec.com.
International Media Contact
Camille Darnaud-Dufour
+33(0)6-79-49-51-43
(any time zone)
camille.darnaud-dufour@soitec.com
Investor Relations
Olivier Brice
+33(0)4-76-92-93-80
olivier.brice@soitec.com
U.S. Media Contact
Leslie Clavin
Racepoint Group
+1-415-694-6717
lclavin@racepointgroup.com
Source: Soitec Silicon
Soitec Announces Adoption of Fully Depleted Technology for Advanced Mobile Platforms
ST-Ericsson selects FD technology for upcoming NovaThor(TM) high performance, low power application processors
BERNIN, France, March 12, 2012/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Soitec (Euronext), a world leader in generating and manufacturing revolutionary
semiconductor materials for the electronics and energy industries, announced today that
ST-Ericsson, a leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, has selected planar fully
depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) technology for use in future mobile platforms.
Soitec's innovative substrates - with an extremely thin top layer which predefines
critical characteristics of the transistor - provide the foundation upon which fully
depleted transistors are built.
"Next-generation mobile consumer devices will need to deliver an even better user
experience and higher performance without sacrificing battery life," said Louis Tannyeres,
chief chip architect, ST-Ericsson. "Together with innovations in overall platform system
design, advances in process technology are key to delivering next-level performance and
higher power efficiency. The results of our work with STMicroelectronics on FD-SOI have
demonstrated that this technology is able to deliver these benefits in a cost-effective
manner, while allowing us to differentiate our solutions."
FD-SOI wafers from Soitec enable enhanced performance for NovaThor(TM) at much lower
battery usage - as much as 35 percent lower power consumption at maximum performance. For
consumers, this can translate into devices that provide four additional hours of
high-speed Web browsing or as much as a day of additional battery life.
"FD provides a low-risk option for semiconductor companies such as ST-Ericsson that
are seeking to take advantage of the benefits of a fully depleted transistor architecture
while leveraging existing design and manufacturing capabilities," said Paul Boudre, chief
operating officer of Soitec. "This announcement represents the industry's first step
toward fully depleted planar CMOS technology, years ahead of when alternative processes
will be available from foundries. We are positioned to provide the volume of qualified
wafer manufacturing required to enable the industry to speed the adoption of planar fully
depleted technology into mainstream mobile applications."
"STMicroelectronics and its partners Leti, Soitec and IBM have invested several years
of development in FD-SOI technology, and ST has recently demonstrated the strong
differentiation of this technology versus conventional bulk CMOS, both for
high-performance and low-power features on several IPs at 28nm and below," said Joel
Hartmann, STMicroelectronics assistant general manager, Technology R&D. "This combination
makes FD-SOI particularly suitable for wireless and tablet applications where it
essentially provides the fully depleted transistor benefits of FinFETs on a planar
conventional technology, while allowing advanced back bias techniques, which are not
available with FinFETs. We are delighted that it could be adopted by ST-Ericsson for their
next generation of products."
As innovative form factors push semiconductor manufacturers to move beyond 28nm
process nodes, it is becoming clear that traditional bulk CMOS process technology cannot
balance these attributes effectively. FD wafers enable a planar, fully depleted transistor
architecture - a breakthrough technology that empowers semiconductor companies to bypass
the bulk CMOS roadblock, enabling the efficient design of next-generation, lower power
processors for smartphones and mobile computing devices. This architecture is essential in
implementing transistor technology that solves - with less process complexity - the
scaling, leakage and variability issues that are associated with shrinking CMOS technology
starting at 28nm.
About Fully Depleted Value
FD wafers comprise an extremely thin layer of silicon over a buried oxide (BOx) layer.
This gives unique properties to the transistors built in this layer. These wafers are
ideally suited to mobile and consumer multimedia applications, enabling power savings of
up to 40 percent, compared to traditional bulk CMOS, at the same performance level.
Similarly, peak performance of processors built on fully depleted wafers can experience up
to 60 percent increase, depending on design optimizations. Exceptional performance is
maintained at very low power supply (sub-0.7V) so that ultra-low power operation of mobile
devices in many use cases can be envisaged.
Additionally, fully depleted wafers are processed with standard fab tools sharing many
process steps with a conventional, low-power bulk CMOS process. They also save 10 percent
of the steps required to fabricate the chips leading to a very competitive cost of
finished chip.
About Soitec
Soitec is an international manufacturing company, a world leader in generating and
manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials at the frontier of the most exciting
energy and electronic challenges. Soitec's products include substrates for
microelectronics (most notably SOI: Silicon-on-Insulator) and concentrator photovoltaic
systems (CPV). The company's core technologies are Smart Cut(TM), Smart Stacking(TM) and
Concentrix(TM), as well as expertise in epitaxy. Applications include consumer and mobile
electronics, microelectronics-driven IT, telecommunications, automotive electronics,
lighting products and large-scale solar power plants. Soitec has manufacturing plants and
R&D centers in France, Singapore, Germany, and the United States. For more information,
visit: http://www.soitec.com.
International Media Contact
Camille Darnaud-Dufour
+33(0)6-79-49-51-43
(any time zone)
camille.darnaud-dufour@soitec.com
Investor Relations
Olivier Brice
+33(0)4-76-92-93-80
olivier.brice@soitec.com
U.S. Media Contact
Leslie Clavin
Racepoint Group
+1-415-694-6717
lclavin@racepointgroup.com
Source: Soitec Silicon