by Ezra Hall
Senior Director of Aerospace and Defense business, GlobalFoundries 

GlobalFoundries (GF) recently announced its facility in Malta, New York, was accredited by the U.S. Department of Defense as a Trusted Foundry with the ability to manufacture secure semiconductors for a range of critical aerospace and defense applications. Why is this important? Read below to learn more. 

Technology use is pervasive in our daily lives, not just on a personal level but also in the critical systems and infrastructure that we may take for granted: power, water, transportation, healthcare, telecom, banking, defense and more.  

All of these end-uses depend upon semiconductor technology to function. And while advances at single-digit nanometer nodes grab most of the headlines, the reality is that most of these applications are made – and will continue to be made – using 12nm and larger nodes to deliver essential chips that serve 70% of the addressable market. Thanks to our commitment to technology innovation and differentiation, this is exactly the space GlobalFoundries (GF) specializes in, which addresses the vast majority of needs for chips used in defense and critical infrastructure applications.  

It is vital not only to protect availability of supply for these chips, but also to ensure they are designed, manufactured and tested in a trusted and secure manner to avoid the potentially nefarious introduction of security risks which could negatively impact the operation of critical systems. Chips not following this approach risk being compromised and subsequently – remotely or otherwise triggered to shut down a system or perform other damaging actions by those with ill intents. We must prevent this from happening, to protect both national and economic security. 

Thus, the electronics industry needs to make security of design, manufacturing and testing a requirement valued every bit as much as the traditional size, weight, power and cost (SWaPc) metrics. We must include security in our program requirements, budget for it and require our supply chains to deliver on the full “CIA” triad framework. That model stresses Confidentiality (protecting from disclosure), Integrity (include only what was intended, nothing else) and Availability (ensuring access to what, and when it’s needed).

A Trusted Partner With a Wide Range of Differentiated Technologies 

No one understands chip security better than GF, a longstanding partner to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the most advanced and the only at-scale U.S. Trusted Foundry. 

Trusted Foundry is a DoD designation certifying that GF meets stringent U.S. government requirements for all aspects of designing and producing classified, secure semiconductor components, both physical and digital. Trusted Foundry accreditation status enables the U.S. government to count on us as a secure source of supply and to protect all of the government’s intellectual property and designs. Trusted Foundry is the security solution today that best addresses all three factors in the CIA triad to their fullest potential.

Some advocate for the softening of Trusted Foundry requirements under the belief that it will cut costs. I see it a different way: using less-secure manufactured chips in sensitive applications will only lead to significant issues down the road, be it supply disruption due to geological, weather, or future pandemic related issues, or increasingly, the realization of geopolitical threats. Ultimately, this is a price we cannot afford. We should not let that happen. 

GF’s differentiated technologies offer features such as the ability to operate with extremely low-power draw, and/or at low- or high-temperature and other extreme environments. These features include: class-leading millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications capabilities; communicating with photons instead of electrons for extreme performance at lowest possible power, delivering advanced power-management functionality; incorporating non-volatile memory; and with the game changing ability to integrate combinations of high-performance signal processing, power, RF communications, and memory onto a system-on-a-chip (SoC). 

Instead of large, heavy power-hungry racks comprised of many boards containing many chips, these systems can be designed into one or several chips to not only perform the same functionality, but extend capabilities, range, reduce size, weight and power. That’s a game-changer, especially for the increasingly smaller and more pervasive defense applications of the future. 

Scale is Needed to Ensure Supply 

Semiconductor manufacturing is a capital-intensive industry with significant technology development, production, and ecosystem costs. For supply resiliency, manufacturing must take place at scale so that a manufacturer can develop the technologies and achieve the yields and quality required by customers and realize a sustainable business case to remain competitive. 

Take GF as an example. Headquartered in the U.S., we have a global footprint with manufacturing facilities in New York, Vermont, Germany and Singapore. Because we operate on three continents, we have three different sets of supply chains which makes us an extremely resilient supplier. In fact, throughout the pandemic, GF didn’t miss a single wafer of output. 

Moreover, our teams have woven extensive supply chain mapping and chip traceability into GF’s operations. This guaranteed assurance is already transforming automotive supply chains.  

To ensure and to fulfill the supply of secure chips needed for aerospace, defense, critical infrastructure, and other applications critical to economic and national security, and to fulfil the vision of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, we must increase the demand for domestically manufactured semiconductors. We have the tools we need to accomplish this, from acquisition policy to buying behaviors and market preferences, and we need to use them. 

The Way Forward: Dual-Use 

Dual-use is the concept of technologies that can be utilized both for defense and non-defense applications, a term that can be applied in a number of ways. As we know, scale is required for affordable high-yield high quality technologies, which dictates that higher volume non-defense related demand must be present. While at the same time, differentiation for defense applications is required to achieve technological superiority for defense applications.  

As such, dual-use research and development incentives must be at the center of our national technology strategy. The costly development of semiconductor technologies will only be justifiable if a foundry can leverage that technology across significant volume that defense applications realistically cannot achieve alone. Creating a platform for research and development that is secure from the start not only protects commercial products, but affords us the opportunity to extend those protections for more sensitive applications.  

As an example, think of a helicopter and an automobile, both of which have radar, cameras, control systems and other systems that function similarly. Chips for these applications can be produced in dual-use technologies to survive the proverbial “valley of death,” and at the same time, the nation can also save time and money! At GF, we have a team of experts who are building unparalleled knowledge and insights into end-market requirements, because our differentiated technologies enable us to support these requirements in ways that offer unique benefits. 

GF’s end markets are automotive; communications infrastructure and data center; home/industrial IoT (Internet of Things); smart mobile devices; and aerospace, defense, and critical infrastructure. We have structured GF’s aerospace, defense and critical infrastructure activities to create synergies in technology products that GF produces for all end markets. 

In this way, we can offer specialized aerospace, defense and critical infrastructure technology solutions built upon robust high volume commercial foundational demand. In effect, we are riding the coattails of cost-effective commercial volume production to implement specific technology features in a secure fashion. 

In so doing, we are supporting a safer, more secure world. 

Ezra Hall, based in Burlington, Vermont, is responsible for GF’s aerospace and defense business, which offers novel and strategic solutions in support of national security and critical infrastructure needs. A 39-year industry veteran, Hall is recognized for his expertise in microelectronics supply chain security. He is a GF Master Inventor with 21 U.S. patents who co-founded and co-chairs the U.S. National Defense Industry Association’s Electronics Division. 

by Stacey Barrick
Global Head of ESG, Labor and Employment law, and Employee Relations

I am proud to share that GlobalFoundries (GF) has published its 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report. This comprehensive report details GF’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts over the past year. It highlights our company’s commitment to ESG leadership and showcases the positive outcomes driven by our global team, as we work every day to deliver GF’s mission of innovating and partnering with customers to deliver semiconductor solutions for all humanity, and guided by our vision of changing the industry that is changing the world.

GF’s Corporate Responsibility Report includes a wealth of information and demonstrates the ways that  our global team is creating value through doing the right thing. Covered topics range from our top priority of employee health, safety, and well-being, to our critical diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts. They include our commitment to resource conservation and sustainable chip manufacturing, responsible sourcing, the many ways in which GF semiconductor technology is benefitting humanity, corporate governance, employee giving, community support and engagement, and so much more.

Here are just a few examples of the information and stories you will find in the report:

• The health and wellbeing of our global team is paramount to GF, and we achieved our goal to keep employees safe with best-in-class recordable injury rates

• GF is benefitting from a diversity of perspectives by growing executive women and executive minority representation, and partnering with leading organizations to grow and cultivate our diverse workforce

• GF continues to deliver on its commitment to sustainable manufacturing, and in 2022 we executed on projects resulting in the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions, chemical use and waste generation, and savings in water and electricity use

• How GF semiconductor technologies are enabling innovation and helping to shape a more sustainable and healthier world
  
• With the introduction of a new GF Supplier Diversity Program, we are strengthening our supply chains and our commitment to responsible sourcing practices

This is the kind of work the GF team does every day. ESG and corporate responsibility are embedded in the fabric of our company, and have been for years. Along with the vital role our company plays by manufacturing the essential chips that enable nearly every important technology in our lives, GF is committed to being a world-class employer, an engaged corporate citizen, and a strong neighbor to our communities. The 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report demonstrates these efforts and outcomes in a succinct way.

As Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF, Tom Caulfield says in his introduction to the report :

“All of these efforts are informed by our corporate responsibilities, which are fundamental to who we are as a company. These priorities underpin our day-to-day operations and our long-term strategic goals, and there is no process, project, or corner of our company in which our corporate responsibilities are not critical factors in our decision making and actions. Prioritizing these responsibilities makes us better as a company and enables us to better deliver on our commitments to all our stakeholders.”

I invite you to invest some time clicking through and reading GF’s 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report, to learn more about what our team has accomplished together, and our ongoing commitment to ensuring a better tomorrow for everyone.

Stacey Barrick leads Environment Social Governance, Employment Law and Employee Relations at GF.  In her role, she leads a global team that oversees GF’s sustainability strategy and programs that focus on reducing GF’s environmental impact, advance sustainable supply chains, foster diversity equity and inclusion, and build inclusive and resilient communities.  Prior to joining GF, Stacey held various senior leadership roles in Human Capital Management and Financial Counseling with Goldman Sachs.

By Deniz Civay 
Deputy Director, Aerospace and Defense, GlobalFoundries 

What does a semiconductor chip on the International Space Station have in common with a chip in your phone or car? Security, reliability, and GlobalFoundries (GF). 

GF is the most advanced semiconductor foundry in the United States with capability and accreditation to manufacture highly sensitive chips for use in defense systems on land, sea, air, and in space. Many of these chips, as well as many of the chips we manufacture for other customers in different industries, are built on GF’s 12LP platform. This technology is purpose-built to deliver high performance and power efficiency for demanding applications. 

Space certainly qualifies as a demanding application. In fact, space is the ultimate extreme environment. The low temperatures and radiation variability in space can easily cause electronics to stop functioning and fail. This can happen in a few different ways. Sometimes radiation hits the chip and causes what’s called a “single event upset.” Other times, chips fail from the long-term “total ionizing dose” that accrues on the chip.  

So back to the question in the headline: If a chip fails in space, how do you replace it? You don’t. That’s why it’s critical for these chips to be reliable, secure, and able to withstand the harsh environments of space including radiation effects and a wide range of extreme temperatures. 

Long Journey to Deep Space 

GF’s 12LP platform is a 3D FinFET technology used for many chip designs, each implementing a wide range of features and capabilities for different end uses. For space applications such as satellites, International Space Station systems, or rovers used on Mars, the chips are customized with Radiation Hardened by Design (RHBD) features. This RHBD work is done by GF ecosystem partners and other companies that focus on semiconductor design, as well as by GF customers that produce satellites and their subsystems, to ensure the chips can withstand the harsh environment of space. RHBD introduces techniques such as design redundancy with spatial positioning awareness to ensure the chip will not fail during the timeframe it’s needed. The time a chip must perform depends upon the use lifetime, for example how far out into space the chip is traveling and how long that journey will take. 

There are GF-made chips in systems in low-earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous orbit (GEO), and deep space. More than 3,000 satellites are currently in LEO, whereas there are about 5,000 satellites further out in GEO. The further away from the Earth’s surface, the harsher the environment. GF 12LP semiconductors with RHBD are one of the few chips that meet the stringent requirements for the long journey to deep space. 

Dual-Use Technologies 

GF delivers high-volume manufacturing (HVM) production to achieve economies of scale. In other words, we make a lot of the same type of chip at once – a process that is much easier said than done and requires innovation, technical know-how, and a world-class team of engineers and technicians. But there are billions more AI servers, phones and cars than satellites, and trillions more chips on Earth than in space.  

So why does GF even make chips for space? And how does this work with HVM? 

We focus on what are called “dual-use” technologies for the needs of our aerospace and defense customers. GF manufactures smaller batches of chips for satellites or other applications, which other companies have customized with RHBD to make them suitable for space. We also aggressively partner with our customers and others to innovate on new ways of customizing these (pre-RHBD) chips, and adding new features, to suit the needs of larger commercial markets such as smartphones or automobiles. Dual-use technologies help ensure the U.S. has the most secure and advanced chips in satellites as well as cars, datacenters, cell phone towers, and many other technologies, with the best economics. 

Any chip’s space performance can be improved with RHBD, however some chips are better suited than others. GF has several technologies that work particularly well with RHBD – including our 12LP, 22FDX and 45CMOS platforms – and enable customers to optimize the performance, power, and size of chips to meet the needs of their specific applications. GF has many ecosystem partners that implement RHBD to create these kinds of chips, and some customers take advantage of this and use the capability to put chips in space.

As I mentioned above, GF is the most advanced semiconductor foundry in the U.S. with capability and accreditation to manufacture highly sensitive chips for use in many of the nation’s mission-critical aerospace and defense applications. GF chips are produced using the highest standard of security. The reliability of these uncompromised chips, in turn, helps to ensure U.S. advancements in space are secure. This includes the GF 12LP chips headed into the vast expanse of space, and leads us back to the original question we set out to answer: 

Q: How do you replace a semiconductor in space?  

A: You don’t. And if you use GF chips that have been designed and manufactured to weather the harsh environment and challenges of space, you won’t need to.  

Dr. Deniz Civay leads the Harsh Environment battleground at GF with the goal of ensuring the most secure onshore advanced technologies for deep space and defense products. She’s deputy director of GF’s aerospace and defense business strategy team. When she started at GF 12 years ago, she worked in R&D inventing novel technologies resulting in 10 patents and many papers. She is PMP certified and holds a Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.