Imagination brings Ensigma Ultra-Low-Power Connectivity IP to GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 22FDX® process

London, UK and Santa Clara, USA – September 25, 2018 – Imagination Technologies and GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) announced today at its annual GTC 2018 conference, a joint collaboration to provide ultra-low-power baseband and radio frequency (RF) solutions for Bluetooth Low Energy® (BLE) and IEEE 802.15.4 technology, using Imagination’s Ensigma connectivity IP on GF’s 22nm FD-SOI (22FDX®) platform. In addition, Imagination has joined GF’s FDXcelerator™ Partner Program.

The combination of 22FDX technology and Imagination’s Ensigma IP provides a power and cost efficient solution that customers can easily integrate into their System on Chip (SoC) designs. The collaboration will enable mutual customers to create innovative and differentiated connected devices for the Internet of Things (IoT) using Imagination’s silicon-proven, ultra-low power Ensigma connectivity engines in GF’s ultra-efficient 22FDX process.

David McBrien, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Imagination, says: “By working with partners such as GF, we continuously enhance our IP for the latest processes. 22FDX is an appealing option for customers designing cost-sensitive devices. The collaboration has made our Ensigma connectivity IP even more power and area efficient. The availability of silicon-proven baseband and RF enables customers to rapidly introduce single-chip wireless devices requiring only a single external antenna.”

“Imagination’s IP and BLE solutions complement GF’s 22FDX FD-SOI capabilities, enabling clients to leverage low-power, low-cost designs for IoT and connected applications,” said Mark Ireland, vice president of ecosystem partnerships at GF. “We are pleased to welcome Imagination as a partner in our FDXcelerator program to further broaden IP and design service choices and flexibility that will best match client requirements.”

Ensigma IP for 22FDX provides a complete IP solution comprising analogue RF/AFE as a hard macro complete with a fully synthesizable baseband IP for applications such as wearable computing, health care, and home control. The solution for ultra-low power Bluetooth Low Energy and IEEE 802.15.4 is currently in development with lead customers, with silicon available in early Q4 2018.

As a part of GF’s FDXcelerator Program, Imagination will join the rapidly-growing number of industry leaders committed to provide a broad set of resources, including EDA tools, IP, silicon platforms, reference designs, design services and packaging and test solutions specific to 22FDX technology. The program’s open framework enables members to minimize development time and cost while simultaneously leveraging the inherent power and performance advantages of FDX technology.

The Ensigma Bluetooth Low Energy / IEEE 802.15.4 baseband and RF IP is available for immediate licensing. For sales and licensing information, contact [email protected].

About GF

GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) is a leading full-service foundry delivering truly differentiated semiconductor technologies for a range of high-growth markets. GF provides a unique combination of design, development, and fabrication services, with a range of innovative IP and feature-rich offerings including FinFET, FDX™, RF, and power/analog mixed signal. With a manufacturing footprint spanning three continents, GF has the flexibility and agility to meet the dynamic needs of clients across the globe. GF is owned by Mubadala Investment Company. For more information, visit globalfoundries.com.

About Imagination Technologies

Imagination is a global technology leader whose products touch the lives of billions of people across the globe. The company’s broad range of silicon IP (intellectual property) includes the key processing blocks needed to create the SoCs (Systems on Chips) that power all mobile, consumer and embedded electronics. Its unique software IP, infrastructure technologies and system solutions enable its customers to get to market quickly with complete and highly differentiated SoC platforms. Imagination’s licensees include many of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, network operators and OEMs/ODMs who are creating some of the world’s most iconic products. See: www.imgtec.com.

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Imagination Technologies, Ensigma, and the Imagination Technologies logo are trademarks of Imagination Technologies Limited and/or its affiliated group companies in the United Kingdom and/or other countries. 22FDX is a registered trademark of GLOBALFOUNDRIES. Wi-Fi® is a registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance. The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. All other logos, products, trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Imagination Technologies’ Press Contacts:

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Press Contact:

Erica McGill
Phone: 518-795-5240
Email: [email protected]

Feature-rich semiconductor platform delivers competitive performance and scalability for next-generation compute applications

Santa Clara, Calif., September 25, 2018 – As part of the company’s new focus on intensifying investment in differentiation, GLOBALFOUNDRIES announced today at its annual Global Technology Conference (GTC), plans to introduce a full set of new technology features to its 14/12nm FinFET offering. The features are designed to deliver better scalability and performance for applications in high-growth markets such as hyperscale datacenters and autonomous vehicles.

In today’s data-intensive world, there is an insatiable demand for high-performance chips to process and analyze the surge of information produced by connected devices. GF’s FinFET offering is an ideal platform for designing high-performance, power-efficient system-on-chips (SoCs) for the most demanding compute applications. The new platform features will improve power, performance and scalability by delivering transistor enhancements optimized for ultra-high performance and enhanced RF connectivity, as well as new high-speed, high-density memories for emerging enterprise and cloud security needs.

“We are committed to enhancing our differentiated offerings to help clients get more value out of their investments in each technology generation,” said Dr. Bami Bastani, senior vice president of business units at GF. “By introducing these new features to our FinFET offering we are delivering powerful technology enhancements that will enable clients to extend performance and create innovative products for the next generation of intelligent systems.”

GF’s 14/12nm FinFET platform provides advanced performance and power with significant cost advantages. The feature-rich enhancements being added to the platform include:

• Ultra-high density: Delivers increased transistor density through continued improvements to the 12LP design library (7.5T), combined with SRAM and analog advances, delivering a smaller die area to support clients in core compute, connect and store applications, as well as mobility and consumer.
• Performance boost: Increases performance through reducing SRAM Vmin by 100mV and standby leakage current by ~50 percent – to extend performance for both existing and emerging applications in machine learning and artificial intelligence.
• RF/analog: Provides a full suite of passive devices, ultra-thick metal and LDMOS options for advanced RF performance with Ft/Fmax at 340GHz targeting <6GHz RF SoCs with high digital content.
• Embedded memory: Offers ultra-high security, one-time programmable (OTP) and multi-time programmable (MTP) embedded non-volatile (eNVM) memory for emerging enterprise, cloud and communication applications. Using physically undetectable charge-trapping technology (CTT) enables security solutions including “physically unclonable device” capabilities and efficient non-volatile memories for higher levels of SoC integration. GF’s CTT solution requires no additional processing or masking steps and delivers up to twice the density of similar OTP solutions based on dielectric fuse technology.

The company’s 14LPP technology can provide up to 55 percent higher device performance and 60 percent lower total power compared to 28nm technologies, while its 12LP technology provides as much as a 15 percent improvement in circuit density and more than a 10 percent improvement in performance over 16/14nm FinFET solutions on the market today. GF’s leading-edge FinFET platform has been in high-volume production since early 2016, and is Automotive Grade 2 ready.

About GF

GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) is a leading full-service foundry delivering truly differentiated semiconductor technologies for a range of high-growth markets. GF provides a unique combination of design, development, and fabrication services, with a range of innovative IP and feature-rich offerings including FinFET, FDX™, RF, and power/analog mixed signal. With a manufacturing footprint spanning three continents, GF has the flexibility and agility to meet the dynamic needs of clients across the globe. GF is owned by Mubadala Investment Company. For more information, visit globalfoundries.com.

Contact:

Erica McGill
GLOBALFOUNDRIES
(518) 795-5240
[email protected]