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New Semiconductor Architecture to Skyrocket EV and HEV Vehicle Performance and Range

By: Khaled Douzane

An Introduction to the revolutionary and industry first FPCU (Field Programmable Control Unit)

As you probably know, the automotive industry is amidst a digital and electric revolution. Much similar to the evolution from flip phones to smartphones, vehicles are becoming electrified, autonomous, and connected, transforming mobility as we know it forever. What you may not know is semiconductors inside these cars are becoming more and more valuable, as they are the key to enabling electric and hybrid vehicles to conserve power, charge faster and reach new ranges. The world’s top auto manufacturers are judged on these key factors and are in a race to find the best technologies to reach the farthest vehicle range with the least power consumption with the fastest battery charging time.

Seeking of new technologies

The answer to this challenge is extremely complex as it involves several elements within an electrified powertrain system. From the battery technology and electric motor design to the motor positioning, there are limitless combinations of technologies to use in electric powertrains, and we are not diving into that conversation as it would be a very long article. The key to this discussion is the ability to control these new systems efficiently together in harmony for maximum performance with new a semiconductor designed specifically for electric and hybrid powertrain systems.

Amazingly, no adequate solution to date has been offered by traditional semiconductor manufacturers to control these new systems efficiently. Therefore, Tier 1 manufacturers and OEMs are essentially forced to use limiting technologies like multicores and microcontrollers that were designed for gas powered engines. Because of this, Silicon Mobility has engineered a new semiconductor called the Field Programmable Control Unit (FPCU) that enables existing electric and hybrid vehicle technologies to achieve their true potential.

A Semiconductor that surpasses the limits

This new disruptive FPCU semiconductor technology combines a flexible and parallel hardware architecture that offers real-time processing and control of sensors and actuators, coupled with a standard CPU. This is surrounded and complemented with an integrated highest standard safety architecture (ASIL-D) to form a single semiconductor. The result is a far more powerful, flexible and safe architecture for the control and performance of electric and hybrid powertrains.

Source: Silicon Mobility’s demo at Embedded World 2018

The FPCU removes software bottlenecks and increases data processing over 40x faster than traditional semiconductors. The FPCU also enables up to 20x faster hard real-time control loop ensuring engine endurance and eliminating signal delays that can cause engine failure or damage. In addition, by executing complex algorithms in the FPCU hardware instead of software reduces power consumption significantly, reaching reductions of over 180 or 200 percent. This result of less power being consumed is an increased range of electric and hybrid vehicles. The FPCU has been measured to extend electric and hybrid vehicle range by over 32%!

Enabling the electric and hybrid revolution

By introducing the FPCU semiconductor, Silicon Mobility is helping automotive manufacturers and OEMs bring more efficient and custom designed electric and hybrid vehicles to market. Especially with the increased demand for extended vehicle range and increased data processing for autonomous driving, semiconductors like the FPCU are the key to achieving this without the need for rethinking or redesigning vehicle powertrain systems such as the battery or engine. Every top car manufacturer in the world is introducing at least one new electric or hybrid model in the next two years, and semiconductor solutions will be in extremely high demand. With the ability to increase vehicle range and data processing exponentially while reducing power consumption, semiconductor architecture is going to pave the way for electric and hybrid vehicle performance and range. Reason being, it is much less expensive to integrate new semiconductor architecture into existing powertrains than significantly alter powertrain system design and supply chains.

To learn more about Silicon Mobility’s FPCU called OLEA, please visit our website and learn about how this industry first semiconductor architecture can enable your electric and hybrid revolution.

Last year, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Silicon Mobility successfully produced the industry’s first automotive FPCU solution. Most recently, Silicon Mobility successfully demonstrated its T222 chip at Embedded World 2018. This FPCU solution uses GF’s 55nm Low Power Extended (55LPx) automotive qualified technology platform to integrate multiple functions onto a single chip, boosting performance for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Watch a live demoof Silicon Mobility’s electric automotive motor control, enabled by GF’s 55nm eFlash technology.

About Author

Khaled Douzane

Khaled Douzane

Khaled Douzane has 18 years of experience in the semiconductor industry with and automotive focus. As Silicon Mobility’s Vice President of Products, he is defining and driving all product lines for electric (EV) and hybrid (HEV) powertrain and autonomous vehicle applications. Khaled is a stakeholder in the patented technology design at the core of Silicon Mobilty’s innovative and revolutionary products. Prior to co-founding Silicon Mobility, Khaled contributed to the development of Scaleo, a semiconductor fabless company, where he held several roles, including SoC Desing Manager for eight years and Product Manager for an additional eight years. Khaled Douzane is a graduate of Nice Sophia-Antipolis POLYTECH engineering school with a major in Electronics.

 

Experts Emphasize the Need for Complete 5G Solutions

By: Gary Dagastine

GF spoke 5G and the world listened at Mobile World Congress 2018

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain is the wireless industry’s leading annual event, and this year’s edition in late February was buzzing with talk of 5G wireless technology. GLOBALFOUNDRIES seized the moment on the show’s very first morning with a special program on 5G’s evolving uses and technology requirements.

First, Gregg Bartlett and Dr. Bami Bastani, Sr. Vice Presidents of GF’s CMOS and RF business units, respectively, outlined 5G-related semiconductor challenges and opportunities for an audience of device developers, networking specialists and high-performance computing architects. 5G will impact all these areas because it enables smarter devices to feed through higher-bandwidth connections to ever-more-powerful data centers.

Then, a panel discussion moderated by Mike Cadigan, GF’s Sr. Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development, and head of GF’s ASIC business unit, took place. The panel was made up of invited experts from Nokia Mobile Networks, Mobile Experts LLC and TU-Dresden.

They gave insights into why 5G networks aren’t likely to roll out on a nationwide scale, why a one-millisecond network latency is “magical,” how working directly with a foundry can support more holistic solutions, and many other important considerations.

Delivering the promise of 5G demands optimized solutions. Source: GF

5G Computing Demands Optimized Silicon

Bartlett said 5G will drive profound changes in the computing requirements for devices and data centers, because the complexity and volume of network traffic are growing exponentially as the result of more users, more transactions per user and richer content per transaction.

“Data center applications will require very fast processors and near-100% uptime, while edge-connected devices will require chips with extremely low-power/low-leakage performance, and with embedded memory for storage and RF for wireless connectivity,” he said.

Both applications also will make use of artificial intelligence (AI) functionality but they will do so differently, he said. Data centers will use AI to learn, anticipate and direct the behavior of devices and networks, while edge-connected devices such as automotive cameras will use it locally for real-time processing and inference. 5G bandwidth is essential to support all these uses.

Design costs are increasing exponentially at each node. Source: IBS 2017

Bartlett said many companies will find it difficult to take advantage of 5G opportunities because of the significant investments required in design tools, EDA, intellectual property (IP) development and verification. “Many new, innovative companies can’t absorb these development costs, and they need technology solutions offering both competitive advantage and cost reductions going forward,” he said.

He explained how GF’s dual-technology roadmap offers this flexibility, with advanced FinFET CMOS technology for high-performance computing, and FD-SOI technology for wireless and battery-powered applications, both of which can be integrated with best-in-class RF functionality. Application-specific ICs, or ASICs, are another path forward to 5G, and GF offers the leading ASIC IP portfolio and more than 1,000 experienced engineers.

While many customers are clamoring for such wide-ranging, flexible foundry solutions, not all foundries are able to respond. “We have a growing portfolio of what I call ‘revolutionary’ customers, who are using new silicon as a wedge to break or change their industry’s traditional competitive framework,” he said. “They are demanding easier access to silicon and we have aligned ourselves accordingly to provide the optimized solutions they need.”

5G Connectivity Brings More Complexity

On the connectivity side, Bami Bastani said 5G will be rolled out in stages, leveraging the existing 4G/LTE backbone. First there will be enhancements to the existing system, then an initial rollout of sub-6GHz bands with massive MIMO architectures for high-rate transmission, and then a second rollout to expand network capacity and drive even higher data transmission rates by leveraging mmWave bands.

“This all means a more complex radio is required, one that works not only with new network protocols but also with legacy protocols and bands,” he said. “Thus, front-end modules (FEMs) must evolve in many ways as the transition from 4G to 5G takes place.”

Bastani said GF’s rich RF portfolio of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and silicon germanium (SiGe) technology platforms creates differentiation for customers, as these optimized solutions can address specific customer performance, complexity and cost demands. He gave two examples.

For 5G basestations, control of the antenna arrays will require much more complex signal processing circuitry. “This process is called beamforming, and it can be done with analog, digital or hybrid circuitry depending on the size of the array. How the system is partitioned drives the choice of technology, and GF has a rich set of offerings to address all requirements,” he said.

The requirements are different for small mobile devices. “You’re now dealing with smaller arrays which require higher power per element to achieve the same radiated power. The good news is we can now do much of the beamforming digitally, thereby leveraging the scaling of advanced nodes like 22FDX to achieve low power and cost for these applications,” he said.

Industry Experts Outline the 5G Future

The discussion then shifted to a panel of experts including Joe Madden, principal analyst at Mobile Experts, Professor Frank Fitzek, head of the Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks at TU Dresden, and Michael Reiha, head of RF IC R&D at Nokia Mobile Networks.

Joe Madden started the panel dialogue, commenting that 5G networks will roll out differently than previous networking technologies. These were characterized by rapid surges of deployment because they enabled existing, widely used applications such as email to go wireless. By contrast, he said, 5G primarily benefits network operators and as-yet non-existent markets.

“From a network operator’s viewpoint the real advantage of 5G is cost. Today, it costs about $1.50 to deliver 1 GB of data over an LTE network, but with mmWave 5G it might be 5 cents or less,” he said, which implies there will be islands of deployment initially, such as in urban centers with dense network traffic or where it’s specifically needed for certain IoT applications.

Moving on to the topic of 5G standards, Cadigan asked Prof. Fitzek to describe the ways in which they are evolving, and how it relates to foundry technology. “Transporting more data isn’t really the issue, it’s all about latency. In that regard, why do we keep arguing that a 1-ms latency requirement is so magical? Well, it has to do with the physics of feedback loops,” said Prof. Fitzek. (Latency is the inherent delay in the network.)

NEXTech Labs Theater, MWC 2018

He gave the example of a 50 Hz power plant feeding electricity into a smart power grid. A mere 10-ms of latency in the grid would result in such large phase shifts in the generator’s electrical output that it could be damaged, he said, whereas 1-ms of latency would be adequate.

“Many people think that if you put the wrong figure for latency into the standard, you can just fix it later. But it will be hard to fix, and to get the full value of 5G networks it must be there from the start.” This doesn’t pose a problem for semiconductor technologists, he said, because they are already very familiar with feedback loops.

The need for low latency is a major reason why Nokia designed its recently introduced 5G Reefshark chipsets itself instead of working with a fabless semiconductor company, according to Reiha. Cadigan asked him what that might mean for future foundry relationships.

Reiha said that to achieve such low latencies one needs to look at 5G requirements holistically, with a vision of the future that semiconductor solutions are flexible enough to support. “Nokia Bell Labs literally wrote the book on massive MIMO, and this enables us to understand the system-based challenges. We also understand the importance of seamless integration of semiconductor functions,” he said.

“What we expect from our foundries is an honest dialog and open access to IP to maintain our quality standards. We need quality IP because we can’t do everything, we’re not experts in all domains,” he said.

Cadigan went on and asked the panelists for their perspective on the approach GLOBALFOUNDRIES is taking in the 5G space. Madden said that GF’s ability to integrate various technologies is very important. “As we go to massive MIMO arrays, there is pressure to reduce the size of radio arrays as well as receivers. There can’t be large transmission lines, and multichip modules where everything is tightly integrated are essential,” he said. Cadigan noted the advanced packaging technology which came to GF from IBM.

Reiha said GF has the best-in-class RF capability, and that from Nokia’s perspective the continuation of ongoing device model improvements for RF is key. “This is especially needed for thermal device models and also for technologies such as SOI to enable more of a seamless mixed-signal simulation environment that would let us build many more sensors and put more control on our RF die, which would really let us focus on having an AI footprint at the antenna interface,” he said.

Prof. Fitzek talked about the importance of software and the openness of GF’s technology. “Because at this point you can’t really foresee what users will do, and machine learning will have its own purposes, your software APIs will only become more important in the future.”

About Author

Gary Dagastine

Gary Dagastine

Gary Dagastine is a writer who has covered the semiconductor industry for EE Times, Electronics Weekly and many specialized media outlets. He is a contributing editor at Nanochip Fab Solutions magazine and also is the Director of Media Relations for the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), the world’s most influential technology conference for semiconductors. He started in the industry at General Electric Co. where he provided communications support to GE’s power, analog and custom IC businesses. Gary is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York,

 

格芯发起RF生态系统计划， 旨在加快无线连接、雷达和5G应用的上市速度

RFwave™合作伙伴计划可以扩展生态系统，在格芯的RF技术平台上实现更快的产品部署

加利福尼亚州圣克拉拉，2018年3月20日 – 格芯今日宣布启动名为RFwave™的全新生态系统合作伙伴计划，旨在简化RF设计，帮助客户缩短新一代无线设备和网络的上市时间。

过去几年，市场对互联设备和系统的需求持续增长，这就需要我们在无线电技术领域开展创新，以支持新的运营模式和更先进的功能。RFwave合作伙伴计划基于格芯的5G愿景和路线图, 重点围绕格芯先进的射频(RF)解决方案，例如FD-SOI、RF CMOS（体硅和先进CMOS节点）、RF SOI和锗硅 (SiGe)技术。该计划为设计人员提供了一种低风险、高成本效益的方法，帮助他们构建高度优化的RF解决方案，面向众多不同的无线应用，例如采用多种无线连接和蜂窝标准的物联网、独立或集成收发器的5G前端模块、毫米波回程、汽车雷达、小基站和固定无线和卫星宽带。

通过RFwave计划，客户能够构建创新的RF解决方案，以及封装和测试解决方案。首批合作伙伴已经为该计划提交了一系列关键产品，包括：

  • 工具(EDA)，通过添加特定模块，方便客户轻松地利用格芯的RF技术平台的功能，从而为先进的设计流程提供补充；
  • 全面的设计要素(IP)库，包括基础IP、接口和复杂IP，让晶圆代工厂客户能够利用经过预先验证的设计要素来开始进行设计；
  • 资源（设计咨询、服务），我们的员工经过培训，遍及全球各地，当合作伙伴使用格芯RF技术来开发解决方案时，可以轻松获得支持

“未来几年内，数字化信息将会呈现爆炸式增长，从而驱动数据量急剧增加，我们的客户已经在为未来随时随地进行无缝可靠的超高数据速率无线连接做准备。”格芯射频业务部高级副总裁Bami Bastani表示，“作为RF领域的领导者，格芯的RFwave计划将行业合作提升到一个新的高度，让客户能够构建针对RF量身定制的高度集成的差异化解决方案，加快推动新一代技术的兴起。”

RFwave合作伙伴计划将创建一个开放式框架，允许选定的合作伙伴将他们的产品或服务集成到已获得验证的即插即用型设计解决方案之中。得益于这种程度的集成，客户能够利用针对RF技术的广泛优质产品，创建高性能设计，同时最大程度地降低开发成本。通过合作伙伴生态系统，成员和客户能够实现无处不在的无线连接，广泛采用格芯先进的RF技术平台。

RFwave合作伙伴计划的首批成员包括：asicNorth、Cadence、CoreHW、CWS、是德科技（Keysight Technologies）、Spectral Design和WEASIC。这些公司已经启动了相关工作，以提供高度优化的创新RF解决方案。

有兴趣了解更多关于格芯RFwave合作伙伴计划的客户，可以联系格芯销售代表，或登陆网站 globalfoundries.com/cn。

正面评价                           

“asicNorth很荣幸加入格芯的RFwave生态系统，为RFwave客户提供IP和设计服务。显而易见，格芯在认真严肃地选择合适的合作伙伴，帮助客户在RF技术领域取得成功。asicNorth一直在有效地推动着很多格芯客户，为RFwave客户取得成功创造便利条件。”

——asicNorth总裁Mike Slattery

“RFwave合作伙伴计划在格芯和Cadence之间建立了良好合作关系，让双方的共同客户能够使用我们的全套‘系统-设计-实现’工具进行设计，包含从芯片到封装再到电路板的独特解决方案。其中包括我们的Virtuoso®、Spectre®、SigrityTM和Allegro®工具，客户可以使用这些工具来开发5G、无线以及其他RF芯片和系统，实现更出色的性能、更低的功耗、更小的尺寸。”

——Cadence定制IC和PCB部门资深副总裁兼总经理Tom Beckley，

“我们非常荣幸与格芯合作开发CoreHW的下一代IC解决方案。这种合作关系将会进一步增强我们的IC设计合作，让我们能够开发先进的技术节点，达到出色的RF工艺性能和建模精度。通过与格芯这样的领先代工厂开展密切合作，再结合CoreHW的最新创新、经验和方法，我们能够一次性成功开发正确的RF芯片解决方案。”

——CoreHW 首席执行官Tomi-Pekka Takalo

“对于RF设计行业而言，这是一个好消息。通过格芯的RFwave计划，CWS将能够在优化设计尺寸方面扮演至关重要的角色，并为在高性能蜂窝、物联网、5G和Wi-Fi通信芯片上设计片上传输线路提供更高灵活性。”

——CWS 董事长兼首席执行官Brieuc Turluche

“是德科技很荣幸通过RFwave计划与格芯结为合作伙伴。这样可以进一步实现我们共同客户的设计流程，从而将双方的合作关系提升到新的高度。是德科技的先进设计系统，以及先进的RF和微波电路设计平台GoldenGate，将帮助设计人员利用适用于RFIC电路、电磁、电热模拟的新兴解决方案，应对最严峻的设计挑战。此外，有了格芯的可互操作ADS PDK，无论使用哪一种原理图或布局环境来生成设计，芯片设计人员都能够采用是德科技的模拟技术。”

——是德科技公司高级副总裁兼通信解决方案部门总裁Satish Dhanasekaran

“对于RF架构师而言，RFwave生态系统是一个功能强大的平台，让他们能够无缝集成优秀的系统设计，而且设计周期非常短。Spectral的MemoryIP平台能够在很短时间内，将格芯的PDK和第三方EDA工具集成在一起。MemoryIP为ASIC设计人员提供了用于高速低功耗存储器编译器的先进架构，还提供比其他任何嵌入式SRAM供应商更多的选项。凭借格芯的高产量位单元，结合Spectral的专有泄漏偏置技术以及各种辅助和维修选项，RF设计人员能够让存储器宏在更广泛的电压和温度条件下工作。祝贺格芯为RF设计行业提供了广泛经过芯片验证的解决方案。”

——Spectral Design & Test Inc.总裁兼首席执行官Deepak Mehta

“WEASIC非常荣幸能够加入格芯的RFwave计划。WEASIC正在采用格芯具有良好前景的工艺，部署毫米波和混合信号IP产品组合，以满足新一代5G通信和自动驾驶市场的庞大需求。”

——WEASIC首席执行官和创始人Emmanouil Metaxakis

关于格芯

格芯是全球领先的全方位服务半导体代工厂，为世界上最富有灵感的科技公司提供独一无二的设计、开发和制造服务。伴随着全球生产基地横跨三大洲的发展步伐，格芯促生了改变行业的技术和系统的出现，并赋予了客户塑造市场的力量。格芯由阿布扎比穆巴达拉投资公司（Mubadala Investment Company）所有。欲了解更多信息，请访问https://www.globalfoundries.com/cn。

媒体垂询：

杨颖（Jessie Yang)
(021) 8029 6826
jessie.yang@globalfoundries.com		 邢芳洁（Jay Xing）
86 18801624170
jay.xing@allisonpr.com

 

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Launches RF Ecosystem Program to Accelerate Time-to-Market for Wireless Connectivity, Radar and 5G Applications

RFwave™ Partner Program expands the ecosystem and enables faster product deployment on GF’s RF technology platforms

Santa Clara, Calif., March 20, 2018 – GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced a new ecosystem partner program, called RFwave™, designed to simplify RF design and help customers reduce time-to-market for a new era of wireless devices and networks.

The last few years there has been an increasing demand for connected devices and systems that will require innovations in radio technologies to support the new modes of operation and higher capabilities. The RFwave Partner Program builds upon GF’s 5G vision and roadmap, with a focus on the company’s industry-leading radio frequency (RF) solutions, such as FD-SOI, RF CMOS (bulk and advanced CMOS nodes), RF SOI and silicon germanium (SiGe) technologies. The program provides a low-risk, cost-effective path for designers seeking to build highly optimized RF solutions for a range of wireless applications such as IoT across various wireless connectivity and cellular standards, standalone or transceiver integrated 5G front end modules, mmWave backhaul, automotive radar, small cell and fixed wireless and satellite broadband.
RFwave enables customers to build innovative RF solutions as well as packaging and test solutions. Initial partners have committed a set of key offerings to the program, including:

  • tools (EDA) that complement industry leading design flows by adding specific modules to easily leverage features of GF’s RF technology platforms,
  • a comprehensive library of design elements (IP), including foundation IP, interfaces and complex IP to enable foundry customers to start their designs using pre-validated IP elements,
  • resources (design consultation, services), trained and globally distributed, for Partners to gain easy access to support in developing solutions using GF’s RF technologies

“An explosion of digital information is expected to drive an enormous amount of growth in the coming years and our customers are already preparing for a future of seamless, reliable ultra high data rate wireless connectivity everywhere,” said Bami Bastani, senior vice president of GF’S RF Business Unit. “As a leader in RF, GF’s RFwave program takes industry collaboration to a new level, enabling our customers to build differentiated, highly integrated RF-tailored solutions that are designed to accelerate the next wave of technology.”

The RFwave Partner Program creates an open framework to allow selected partners to integrate their products or services into a validated, plug-and-play catalog of design solutions. This level of integration allows customers to create high-performance designs while minimizing development costs through access to a broad set of quality offerings, specific to RF technology. The partner ecosystem positions members and customers to take advantage of ubiquitous connectivity and the broad adoption of GF’s industry-leading RF technology platforms.

Initial members of the RFwave Partner Program are: asicNorth, Cadence, CoreHW, CWS, Keysight Technologies, Spectral Design, and WEASIC. These companies have already initiated work to deliver innovative, highly optimized RF solutions.

Customers that are interested in learning more about GF’s RFwave program contact your sales representative or visit globalfoundries.com.

Supporting Quotes                         

“asicNorth is pleased to join GF’s RFwave Ecosystem and make its IP and Design Services available to RFwave customers.  It is clear that GF is serious about aligning the right partners to enable their customers to be successful in the RF technologies. asicNorth has been an effective catalyst for many GF customers and is excited to facilitate the success of RFwave customers.”

Mike Slattery, President, asicNorth

“The RFwave Partner Program builds on the relationship between GF and Cadence, enabling our mutual customers to design with our full set of system-design-enablement tools with unique solutions from chip to package to board. This includes our Virtuoso®, Spectre®, SigrityTM, and Allegro® tools that our customers use to develop 5G, wireless, and other RF chips and systems with better performance, lower power consumption and a smaller form factor.”

Tom Beckley, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Custom IC & PCB Group, Cadence

“We are excited to partner with GF on the development of CoreHW’s next generation IC solutions. This partnership further strengthens our IC design cooperation by giving us access to advanced technology nodes with exceptionally good RF process performance and modelling accuracy. A close cooperation with a leading foundry such as GF coupled with the latest innovations, experience and methodology from CoreHW enables first time right RF silicon success.”

Tomi-Pekka Takalo, CEO, CoreHW

“This is great news for the RF design community. Through GF’s RFwave program CWS will be able to play a critical role in optimizing design sizes and deliver more flexibility to design on-chip transmission lines for high-performing cellular, IoT, 5G and Wi-Fi communication chips.”

Brieuc Turluche, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, CWS

“Keysight is excited to partner with GF in the RFwave program. This takes our relationship to the next level by further enabling our mutual customers’ design flows. Keysight’s Advanced Design System and GoldenGate, are industry leading platforms for RF and microwave circuit design that will help designers address their most difficult design challenges with pioneering solutions for RFIC circuit, electromagnetic, and electro-thermal simulations. Furthermore, GF’s interoperable ADS PDKs allow silicon designers access to Keysight’s simulation technologies independent of which schematic or layout environment is used to generate the design.”

Satish Dhanasekaran, SVP and President of Communications Solution Group, Keysight Technologies Inc.

“The RFwave Ecosystem is an excellent platform for RF architects to seamlessly integrate their best-in-class system designs with the shortest cycle-time. Spectral’s MemoryIP platform was able to integrate GF’s PDKs and third party EDA tools in record time. MemoryIP provides ASIC designers with the most advanced architectures for high speed low power Memory Compilers with more options than any other embedded SRAM provider. With GF’s high yielding bit cells, coupled with Spectral’s proprietary leakage biasing techniques and various assist and repair options, RF designers can operate memory macros over a wider variety of voltage and temperature conditions. Congratulations to GF for offering a wide-range of silicon proven solutions to the RF design community.”

Deepak Mehta, President and CEO, Spectral Design & Test Inc.

“WEASIC is excited to participate in GF’s RFwave program. WEASIC is deploying its millimeter-wave and mixed signal IP portfolio in GF’s most promising processes for the next generation big markets of 5G communications and autonomous driving.”
Emmanouil Metaxakis, CEO and Founder, WEASIC

About GF

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a leading full-service semiconductor foundry providing a unique combination of design, development, and fabrication services to some of the world’s most inspired technology companies. With a global manufacturing footprint spanning three continents, GLOBALFOUNDRIES makes possible the technologies and systems that transform industries and give customers the power to shape their markets. GLOBALFOUNDRIES is owned by Mubadala Investment Company. For more information, visit https://www.globalfoundries.com.

Contact:

Erica McGill
GLOBALFOUNDRIES
(518) 795-5240
erica.mcgill@globalfoundries.com

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Names Ronald Sampson as General Manager of its Leading-Edge Silicon Manufacturing Facility in New York

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Names Ronald Sampson as General Manager of its Leading-Edge Silicon Manufacturing Facility in New York

Santa Clara, Calif., March 19, 2018 – GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced it has appointed Dr. Ronald Sampson as senior vice president and general manager of the company’s leading-edge 300mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility (Fab 8), located in Saratoga County, N.Y.

Sampson, who is an accomplished leader with 30 years of industry experience, will lead the operations of one of the world’s most advanced semiconductor fabs, supporting a wide range of customers designing chips on advanced 14nm FinFET and 7nm FinFET technology platforms. Sampson replaces Dr. Thomas Caulfield, who was recently appointed as GF’s chief executive officer.

“Fab 8 is a true manufacturing success story and proof that innovation is alive and well in the U.S. semiconductor industry,” Caulfield said. “I am committed to capitalizing on the significant investments we have made to build Fab 8 into a trusted partner for our leading-edge customers. Ron is an experienced leader and an integral member of the Fab 8 team. I can think of nobody better to lead the next era of growth at Fab 8.”

Sampson joined GF in August 2014 as the vice president of program management at Fab 8. Prior to that, he spent 20 years at STMicroelectronics where he held a variety of progressive leadership positions in technology development, manufacturing, operations and program management within both ST and with the IBM-led Joint Development Alliances.

Prior to his time with ST, he worked at Digital Equipment Corporation’s Hudson, Mass. Advanced Semiconductor Development facility.

Sampson holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of Cincinnati, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Duke University.

ABOUT GF

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a leading full-service semiconductor foundry providing a unique combination of design, development, and fabrication services to some of the world’s most inspired technology companies. With a global manufacturing footprint spanning three continents, GLOBALFOUNDRIES makes possible the technologies and systems that transform industries and give customers the power to shape their markets. GLOBALFOUNDRIES is owned by Mubadala Investment Company. For more information, visit www.globalfoundries.com.

Contact:

Steven Grasso
(518) 305-6144
steven.grasso@globalfoundries.com

格芯扩展硅光子路线图，满足对数据中心连接的爆炸式增长需求

光子集成技术有助于提升新一代光学互连的带宽和能效

2018年3月14日，加州圣克拉拉 – 今天，格芯揭示硅光子路线图的新信息，推动数据中心和云应用的新一代光学互连。格芯已经用300 mm晶圆认证了行业首个90 nm制造工艺，同时宣布未来的45 nm技术将带来更大的带宽和能效。

格芯的硅光子技术旨在应对全球通信基础设施中的大规模数据增长。不同于利用铜线电信号传输数据的传统互连，硅光子技术使用光纤光脉冲，以更高的速度在更远距离上传输数据并降低能耗。

格芯ASIC业务部高级副总裁Mike Cadigan表示：“带宽需求呈现爆炸式增长，现在迫切需要新一代的光学互连。不管是数据中心内部芯片之间，还是相隔千里的云服务器之间，我们的硅光子技术都能让客户在前所未有的连接水平上传送大量数据。”

格芯的硅光子技术可在单个硅芯片上并排集成微小光学组件与电路。“单芯片”方案利用标准硅制造技术，提高了客户部署光学互连系统的效率，降低了成本。

现在可使用300 mm晶圆

格芯的当代硅光子产品依托90 nm RF SOI工艺，这项工艺充分发挥了公司在制造高性能射频(RF)芯片方面积累的一流经验。平台可以实施提供30GHz带宽的解决方案，支持客户端数据传输速率达到800 Gbps，同时使数据传输距离增加到120 km。

这项技术先前使用200 mm晶圆工艺，格芯位于纽约州东菲什基尔的10号晶圆厂现在认证了300 mm直径的晶圆。采用300 mm晶圆有助于提高客户产能和生产率，让光子损失减少2倍，扩大覆盖范围，实现效率更高的光学系统。

Cadence Design Systems公司用于E/O/E、协同设计、极化、温度和波长参数的完整PDK支持90 nm技术，并提供差异化光子测试能力，包括从技术认证和建模到MCM产品测试的五个测试部分。

未来路线图

格芯新一代单芯片硅光子产品将采用45 nm RF SOI工艺，计划于2019年投入生产。这项技术利用更先进的45 nm节点，功耗降低，体积减小，用于光学收发器产品的带宽更高，可满足新一代兆兆位应用。

关于格芯

格芯是全球领先的全方位服务半导体代工厂， 为世界上最富有灵感的科技公司提供独一无二的设计、开发和制造服务。伴随着全球生产基地横跨三大洲的发展步伐，格芯促生了改变行业的技术和系统的出现， 并赋予了客户塑造市场的力量。格芯由阿布扎比穆巴达拉投资公司（Mubadala Investment Company）所有。 欲了解更多信息，请访问 www.globalfoundries.com/cn。

媒体垂询：

Jason Gorss
(518) 698-7765
jason.gorss@globalfoundries.com

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Extends Silicon Photonics Roadmap to Meet Explosive Demand for Datacenter Connectivity

Integrated photonics technologies enable improved bandwidth and energy efficiency for next-generation optical interconnects

Santa Clara, Calif., March 14, 2018 – GLOBALFOUNDRIES today revealed new details of its silicon photonics roadmap to enable the next generation of optical interconnects for datacenter and cloud applications. The company has now qualified the industry’s first 90nm manufacturing process using 300mm wafers, while also unveiling its upcoming 45nm technology to deliver even greater bandwidth and energy efficiency.

GF’s silicon photonics technologies are designed to support the massive growth in data transmitted across today’s global communication infrastructure. Instead of traditional interconnects that transmit data using electrical signals over copper wires, silicon photonics technology uses pulses of light through optical fibers to move more data at higher speeds and over longer distances, while also minimizing energy loss.

“The explosive need for bandwidth is fueling demand for a new generation of optical interconnects,” said Mike Cadigan, senior vice president of the ASIC business unit at GF. “Our silicon photonics technologies enable customers to deliver unprecedented levels of connectivity for transferring massive amounts of data, whether it’s between chips inside a datacenter or across cloud servers separated by hundreds and even thousands of miles.”

GF’s silicon photonics technologies enable the integration of tiny optical components side-by-side with electrical circuits on a single silicon chip. This “monolithic” approach leverages standard silicon manufacturing techniques to improve production efficiency and reduce cost for customers deploying optical interconnect systems.

Available Today on 300mm

GF’s current-generation silicon photonics offering is built on its 90nm RF SOI process, which leverages the company’s world-class experience in manufacturing high-performance radio frequency (RF) chips. The platform can enable solutions that provide 30GHz of bandwidth to support client side data rates of up to 800Gbps, as well as long-reach capabilities of up to 120km.

The technology, which had previously been manufactured using 200mm wafer processing, has now been qualified on larger-diameter 300mm wafers at GF’s Fab 10 facility in East Fishkill, N.Y. The migration to 300mm enables more customer capacity, greater manufacturing productivity, and up to a 2X reduction in photonic losses to improve reach and enable more efficient optical systems.

The 90nm technology is supported by a full PDK for E/O/E co-design, polarization, temperature and wavelength parametrics from Cadence Design Systems, as well as differentiated photonic test capabilities including five test sectors from technology verification and modeling to MCM product test.

A Roadmap for Tomorrow

GF’s next-generation monolithic silicon photonics offering will be manufactured on its 45nm RF SOI process, with production slated for 2019. By leveraging the more advanced 45nm node, the technology will enable reduced power, smaller form factor, and significantly higher bandwidth optical transceiver products to address next generation terabit applications.

ABOUT GF

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a leading full-service semiconductor foundry providing a unique combination of design, development, and fabrication services to some of the world’s most inspired technology companies. With a global manufacturing footprint spanning three continents, GLOBALFOUNDRIES makes possible the technologies and systems that transform industries and give customers the power to shape their markets. GLOBALFOUNDRIES is owned by Mubadala Investment Company. For more information, visit www.globalfoundries.com.

Contact:

Jason Gorss
(518) 698-7765
jason.gorss@globalfoundries.com

格芯技术、性能与规模迈入新阶段，资深业者汤姆∙嘉菲尔德接棒桑杰·贾出任格芯首席执行官

美国加利福尼亚圣克拉拉,（2018年3月9日）——结束了在格芯四年的首席执行官（CEO）任期，桑杰·贾（Sanjay·Jha）先生将把公司最高职位交接给原格芯高级副总裁、总经理汤姆∙嘉菲尔德博士。汤姆∙嘉菲尔德先生具有丰富的经验，在业内广受尊敬。

嘉菲尔德先生于2014年加入格芯，他拥有十分出色的履历背景，在许多业内领先的科技公司有过工程、管理、运营以及全球业务执行等经历。他在IBM工作的17年中，历任多项高级领导职务。在格芯任职期间，他成功地在纽约北部地区建造并发展了公司新型的14纳米生产基地，该基地是全美最先进的代工厂，也是美国最大的公私合作关系的实例之一。

过去的四年里，格芯已成长为行业内第二大纯晶圆代工公司。2015年，公司收购了IBM的微电子业务，包括1000多位技术专家以及16,000项专利。格芯成功地利用这些资源在纽约建造工厂，并加快了7纳米工艺的发展。在差异化FDX技术领域，格芯亦是先锋，这为我们的顾客提供了低功耗、高效的物联网解决方案，并且扩大了公司在实现智能互联的射频行业的领导地位。2017年，格芯宣布开展与中国成都的战略伙伴关系，并建造300毫米晶圆厂，预计于明年投入运营。

“过去的四年意义非凡，”贾先生表示。“我们将格芯转变成了一个备受客户信赖的代工厂。对IBM公司微电子业务的收购也使得我们能够独立发展包括7nm工艺在内的尖端技术的同时，扩大我们在射频, ASICS 以及 FDX平台等不同业务的领导地位。汤姆∙嘉菲尔德先生是出任CEO非常合适的人选，他完全有能力沿续我们的成功的记录，进一步加强格芯作为领先的代工厂在半导体行业的领导地位。”

“我非常荣幸，有机会在这个本公司以及行业所处的令人激动的时刻，领导格芯的发展。”嘉菲尔德先生，这位即将履新的CEO表示。“越来越多的新客户涌入市场，我们拥有独特的技术服务以及出色的执行经历，能够在快速发展的代工行业重塑竞争环境。我们将继续改变这个影响世界的行业。”

“对于全球半导体行业以及公司股东来说格芯都是一个战略性资产。我们将继续加大投入来增长并差异化我们的业务，通过合作进一步强化行业的发展，这一切都是为了更好地服务我们的客户。” 格芯董事会主席Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi表示。“桑杰为格芯制定了里程碑式的正确战略，带领公司步入正轨，我们感谢他作出的重大贡献。同时，汤姆凭借自身25年的运营经验以及客户服务经历，将继续带领格芯迈向新的成功。”贾先生将与格芯的股东穆巴达拉投资公司（Mubadala Investment Company）密切合作，探索更多潜在的未来系统业务的开发。

关于格芯

格芯是全球领先的全方位服务半导体代工厂，为世界上最富有灵感的科技公司提供独一无二的设计、开发和制造服务。伴随着全球生产基地横跨三大洲的发展步伐，格芯促生了改变行业的技术和系统的出现，并赋予了客户塑造市场的力量。格芯由阿布扎比穆巴达拉投资公司（Mubadala Investment Company）所有。欲了解更多信息，请访问 https://www.globalfoundries.com/cn。

媒体垂询：

杨颖（Jessie Yang)
(021) 8029 6826
jessie.yang@globalfoundries.com		 关慧珠 （Sunny Guan)
86 13564132717
sunny.guan@allisonpr.com		 邢芳洁（Jay Xing）
86 18801624170
jay.xing@allisonpr.com		 范怡唯（Yiwei Fan）
86 13585713665
yiwei.fan@allisonpr.com

Following Significant Technology, Capacity and Expansion Milestones, GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Sanjay Jha to Pass Baton to Industry Veteran Tom Caulfield

Santa Clara, Calif., March 9, 2018 – After more than four years as chief executive officer of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Sanjay Jha will hand over the company’s top position to Dr. Thomas Caulfield, senior vice president and general manager and a highly-respected industry veteran.

Caulfield joined GF in 2014 following a successful career with an impressive track record of results spanning engineering, management, operational leadership and global executive experience with leading technology companies including 17 years at IBM in a variety of senior leadership roles. During his tenure at GF, he successfully built and ramped the company’s new 14nm production facility in upstate New York, the most advanced foundry facility and one of the largest public-private partnerships in the United States.

Over the past 4 years, GF has established itself as the industry’s second-largest pure-play foundry company. In 2015, the company acquired IBM’s microelectronics business, bringing a team of more than 1,000 technologists and a portfolio of 16,000 patents. GF successfully leveraged these capabilities to build the New York facility and to accelerate development of 7nm. The company has also pioneered differentiated FDX technology, which provides customers with a low-power, efficient solution for the Internet of Things and expanded its leadership position in RF which enables connected intelligence. In 2017, the company announced its strategic partnership with Chengdu, China, and broke ground on a world-scale 300mm fab, which is set to begin operations next year.

“It has been an incredible four years,” said Jha. “We have transformed GF into a trusted, reliable foundry for our global customer base. The acquisition of IBM’s microelectronics business has allowed us to independently develop leading-edge technology including 7nm, as well as expand our leadership positions in differentiated businesses such as RF, ASICS and the FDX platform. Tom Caulfield is the right person to build on this record of success and strengthen GF’s position as a leading foundry partner to the semiconductor industry.”

“I am honored to be given this chance to lead GF at such an exciting time at the company and in our industry,” said Caulfield, incoming CEO of GF. “With exciting new customers coming into the market, we have the unique technology portfolio and executional track record to reset the competitive playing field in the rapidly-growing foundry segment. And we will continue to change the industry that is changing the world.”

“GF is a strategic asset for the global semiconductor industry and our shareholder. We will continue to invest to differentiate and grow the business and further consolidate the industry through partnerships, in a way that allows us to better serve our customers,” said Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi, Chairman of the GF Board of Directors. “Sanjay delivered on strategic milestones which set the company on the right path and we would like to thank him for his significant contributions. Tom, with his 25-year track-record of operational excellence and delivering for customers, will take the company to the next level of success.”

Jha intends to work closely with the company’s shareholder, Mubadala Investment Company, to explore the development and build out of potential future systems businesses.

ABOUT GF

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a leading full-service semiconductor foundry providing a unique combination of design, development, and fabrication services to some of the world’s most inspired technology companies. With a global manufacturing footprint spanning three continents, GF makes possible the technologies and systems that transform industries and give customers the power to shape their markets. GF is owned by Mubadala Investment Company. For more information, visit https://www.globalfoundries.com.

Contact:
Jason Gorss
(518) 698-7765
jason.gorss@globalfoundries.com

2018 MWC：22FDX让物联网更有魅力

作者: Dave Lammers

全球移动通讯大会(MWC2018)即将在西班牙巴塞罗那举行，物联网领域大咖们将在大会上展示他们的芯片设计，其中几家创业公司使用了格芯的22FDX®技术。

Nanotel Technology公司的首席技术官Anup Savla表示，这家年轻公司正在设计几个用于窄带物联网领域的多款芯片。Savla在英特尔工作了三年之后，又在高通做了11年的无线电集成电路设计。Savla说，Nanotel选择使用22FDX工艺技术为混合信号窄带物联网调制解调器降低功耗。

他表示：「我们围绕物联网应用设计了一个数字引擎处理器，聚焦于低功耗和低泄漏。22FDX能够关闭电源，防止漏电，这是你无法从批量CMOS工艺中获得的。

在最初的22FDX设计套件正式发布之前，Nanotel就已经开始设计收发器了，使用了0.5 PDK，但是库的目标是0.4 V运行电压。「从一开始我们就明确定位于0.4V库，因为在0.8V的水平上，使用批量CMOS工艺无法作足够的功耗分层。在0.4伏的电压下，功耗水平要低得多，但成本接近批量CMOS工艺。」Salva说。

格芯的22FDX架构: 物联网、移动和射频的新兴产品

当被问及如何设计FD-SOI工艺时，Savla说：「 我们遇到了早期使用者都会遇到的问题。部分原因是使用后门所需的额外建模和测试，但是不管工艺的成熟度如何，这仍然是正确的。如果您真的想要开发这个工艺所能做的事，那么您就要随着建模的增加而改变背栅电压。」

 

Savla表示，Nanotel芯片组的设计在数字和模拟上所花的精力是相同的。「在相同的设计中，当设备基本上处于睡眠和不使用状态时，我们可以使用带有后盖控制的开关来切断的泄漏电流。在某种程度上，这在批量CMOS工艺里是不容易做到的。另一方面，我们可以在主动模式的设备上使用背栅，以极低的供能使主动操作成为可能。」

Nanotel的主要着重点不是销售IC —Nanotel是一家专注于解决方案的公司，为客户设计设备和数据包，让客户可以使用远程、低成本的蜂窝网络连接，而无需依赖WiFi。拥有自己的芯片组使得Nanotel能为客户定制低成本、功能独特的产品。

双模连接解决方案

根据ABI Research的数据，领先的低功耗广域(LPWA)连接标准— LTE-M，在美国市场上吸引了越来越多的关注。而在2021年前，欧洲和亚洲所采用的窄带物联网会将物联网的部署提升至近5亿。

格芯和VeriSilicon正在开发一套IP协议，让客户可以创建单芯片的LPWA解决方案，以支持使用双模方案的LTE-M或NB -物联网。该IP将包括集成基带、电源管理、射频无线电和前端组件的完整的蜂窝调制解调器模块集成在单一芯片上。

VeriSilicon提供芯片设计平台即服务(SiPaaS)IP，这使得他的客户可以专注于差异化功能。VeriSilicon首席执行官Wayne Dai表示，中国政府已经将窄带物联网全国范围的部署作为未来一年的目标。格芯在成都新成立的300毫米芯片厂，以及IP平台，如集成NB-物联网和LTE-M的单芯片方案，将对中国的物联网和物人工智能(AIoT)产业产生重大影响。

1微微安培每微米

Anubhav Gupta是格芯物联网、人工智能和机器学习部门战略营销和业务发展主管。他说：「一些客户正在使用旧的多芯片设计，并用22FDX工艺创建单芯片解决方案。由于SOI和FET有效叠加可获得高功率PA和高开关线性，22FDX工艺在转移到单芯片设计时具有面积、功耗和成本的优势。我们看到了该工艺的短沟道效应，更高的跨导增益，以及与28nm批量芯片的等效设计相比具有更好的偏模和低噪音性能。」

在数字化方面，Gupta表示，这种基底偏压的功能使客户可以在低于1微微安培每微米的情况下，使用低至0.4V的备用泄漏电流来运行。另外，格芯现在提供了嵌入式MRAM，其唤醒速度非常快，读取速度与flash类似，但写入速度要快1000倍。Gupta说，当eMRAM与芯片上的SRAM结合使用时，客户可以完全避开片外闪存。

众望所归的路线图

foundry-files-guest-blog

Dan Hutcheson，VLSI Research公司首席执行官

Dan Hutcheson是加州圣克拉拉市市场研究公司VLSI Research的首席执行官。他在2016年对设计师们进行了一项调查，让他们比较FD-SOI与批量生产的CMOS。设计师们反馈，问题在于他们不知道是否有FD-SOI路线图。于是，格芯开发出从22FDX到12FDX™的平台，这个问题就迎刃而解了。

Hutcheson说，他相信一些公司正在起步进行设计，他们却就此对外界保密。「从2016年开始，市场上出现更多的IP，而格芯已经解决了12FDX的路线图问题，因此22不仅仅是一个一站式服务。」

意法半导体公司拥有多项应用于28nm芯片的FD-SOI设计。该公司最近宣布将把格芯22FDX工艺作为其FD-SOI路线图的下一站。

意法半导体的一位发言人说：「自从22FDX集成了第二代有源器件(晶体管)之后，意法半导体选择格芯22FDX技术作为下一站技术便顺理成章，目前我们已在使用28nmFD-SOI技术。」

这位发言人表示，「意法半导体对德累斯顿22FDX节点技术的发展持积极的看法，该节点技术目前已经具备了批量生产的资格，并为其发展的黄金时间做好准备。因此意法半导体可以立即用它来开发产品」。德累斯顿的制造团队的芯片产能和经验「使得我们对格芯的生产能力和产量充满信心。」

性能优化的视觉处理器

Dream Chip Technologies公司首席运营官Jens Benndorf说，他的团队把0.8 V库用于其“性能优化”的汽车视觉处理器。Dream Chip主导了一系列获欧盟支持的设计项目，这些项目包括ARM的A53 Quad和 Cortex®-R5，Cadence的四维Vision P6，ArterisIP的FlexNOC，INVECAS的LPDDR4控制器，以及其他的IP合作伙伴。基于22FDX工艺设计的多核视觉处理器，在2017年的MWC上首次亮相。从那时起，该设计为欧洲汽车制造商和一级汽车零部件供应商提供了一个平台，使他们可以创建定制的衍生产品。

据Benndorf介绍，「汽车行业意识到他们的辅助驾驶解决方案，除了需要雷达和激光雷达，还需要更多来自多个摄像头的整合信息。因次，多处理器芯片设计采用了正向偏差来提高性能，而不是反向偏差。」由此产生了一种计算机视觉处理器芯片方案，面积64平方毫米，有约10亿个晶体管，却只消耗4瓦。他补充道：「想象一下芯片上有多少视觉处理器，可见这个功耗数字有多么令人瞩目。」

Riot Micro公司押注蜂窝链路

Nanotel所进行的设计在数字和模拟上投入的精力相同，另一家使用22FDX工艺的创业公司则拥有全数字的窄带物联网调制解调器设计。位于温哥华的Riot Micro公司首席执行官Peter Wong表示，其公司不用数字信号处理(DSP)的方法，允许物联网用户关闭大部分芯片以节省电力。对于电池驱动的物联网边缘设备来说，这一点尤其受欢迎，因为这些设备可能需要使用电池运行10年。

Riot Micro 的首席执行官Peter Wong：Riot Micro的价值存在于功耗领域

Riot Micro的第一个设计是用竞争工厂的55nm批量CMOS来完成的，但是后续的芯片设计则用22FDX工艺来完成。Riot Micro的LTECat-M/窄带物联网调制解调器包含一个超低功耗处理器来运行协议栈。PeterWong说：「我们借鉴了蓝牙领域的设计方法来降低电力和成本。PHY是用栅来设计的，而不是用有紧密耦合和高度优化的协议栈的信号处理器（DSP）来设计的，这使得我们可以对调制解调器进行超细粒度的功率控制。」

PeterWong说：「有了22FDX工艺，我们的价值体现在潜在的能源和空间的节省。此外，利用IP越来越丰富可用的22FDX工艺中生态系统，有助于缩短产品进入市场的时间。」

RiotMicro设计的是一款支持LTE Cat-M和窄带物联网蜂窝标准的数字蜂窝调制解调器；Peter Wong说，今年Riot Micro的调制解调器将通过几家主要的移动运营商的认证。中东的一名客户正计划将其用于紧急警报系统。

Peter Wong说：「现在有很多方法可以连接互联网，如WiFi、蓝牙、Zigbee、蜂窝网络等等。有一些应用适用所有的方法，但对于许多应用来说，蜂窝网络有很多优势。从本质上说，蜂窝网络更安全、更容易部署、提供了移动性，而且频谱也是经许可和管理的。只要打开它，它就能连接起来。您不必担心频谱制式问题；这都是由运营商来管理的。」他表示，资产追踪和资产管理为其中主要应用程序。

来源：Riot Micro — 窄带物联网网络在电力不足的大范围网络中使用蜂窝网络

集成化电源管理

Gupta表示，格芯留意到一些混合信号的物联网用户倾向于采用0.4V的电源为其数字电路电源，而采用0.8到1.8伏为其模拟部分电源。在22FDX中，LDMOS的可用性消除了对低功耗物联网应用的外部电源管理单元(PMU)的要求。通常在批量生产工艺中，他们没有高压LDMOS，而且由于很多物联网应用都使用锂离子电池工作，这些应用需要一个外部电源转换芯片来驱动使用电池驱动的应用程序。

Gupta表示，0.4V的设计有足够的数字性能来支持ARM核心，例如，从100Mhz到最高500Mhz的运行速度。

格芯的市场总监Tim Dry表示：「通过利用动态基体偏压，工程师们更全面地理解了22FDX技术的模拟设计性能。事实证明，SOI的基底偏压可以实现很多模拟缩放，这是我们直到最近才了解到的。对于ADCs(类似于数字转换器)、无线电和电源组件来说，我们相信我们可以得到比FinFETs更小的芯片面积。」

22FDX解决方案可以降低窄带物联网系统的功耗，如智能电表、增强现实和虚拟现实头盔、效用控制和安全摄像头的功耗。TimDry说：「智能扬声器是另一个吸引大量关注的应用。」

 

 

 

关于作者

Dave Lammers
Dave Lammers是固态技术特约撰稿人，也是格芯的Foundry Files的特约博客作者。他于20世界80年代早期在美联社东京分社工作期间开始撰写关于半导体行业的文章，彼时该行业正经历快速发展。他于1985年加入E.E. Times，定居东京，在之后的14年内，足迹遍及日本、韩国和台湾。1998年，Dave与他的妻子Mieko以及4个孩子移居奥斯丁，为E.E Times开设德克萨斯办事处。Dave毕业于美国圣母大学，获得密苏里大学新闻学院新闻学硕士学位。