September 4, 2025 By Alex Margomenos Director, RF Product Management at GlobalFoundries Global data consumption is rising, in part due to the adoption of generative AI. The latest Ericsson Mobility report projects that worldwide mobile data traffic will grow by 2.3 times and reach 280 ExaBytes (1018 bytes) per month by 2030. To accommodate this growth, mobile operators, phone manufacturers, and standardization bodies must focus on expanding bandwidth, combining multiple data streams per channel, and improving data compression per symbol. These strategies have been implemented throughout the evolution of cellular standards and are expected to continue as technology advances towards 6G. For instance, 5G introduced additional frequency bands in the 3–6 GHz and millimeter wave frequency ranges, enhanced the implementation of MIMO spatial multiplexing, incorporated advanced beam steering techniques, and facilitated more sophisticated modulation schemes. Moreover, 5G increased the utilization of carrier aggregation, enabling both contiguous and non-contiguous bandwidth from single or multiple bands—including dual connectivity with 4G LTE bands—to be combined for greater data throughput. This approach, coupled with the standard’s inherent flexibility and scalability in numerology and waveforms (such as scalable subcarrier spacing, slot duration, and transmission bandwidths), delivers the improvements in spectral efficiency necessary to meet growing data demands. Providing all this functionality places significant demands on the RF front-ends, which are anticipated to increase as development advances toward 6G. These demands include: Supporting additional frequency bands requires more content in filters and RF components, making miniaturization and integration increasingly difficult while keeping the device form factor and size unchanged. More bands, closer together, reduce tolerance to interference, requiring improved filters and higher linearity components that generate lower harmonics in both the transmitter and receiver. New bands, flexible numerology and increased band combinations for carrier aggregation lead to more switches for band selection, antenna selection and antenna tuning. GF’s RFSOI technologies have been in the forefront for addressing these challenges for cellular switches and low noise amplifiers. In 2024, we introduced 9SW, our 4th generation RFSOI platform. Building upon its predecessor 8SW RFSOI technology, 9SW offers significant improvements in performance, integration and area advantages for front-end modules. 9SW is based on 90nm back-end-of-line lithography, offering significant opportunities for size reduction in digital circuits and switches. It offers enhanced Ron*Coff and improvements in power handling capabilities. In addition to switch and low noise amplifier devices, the platform includes a full suite of logic and analog FETs, circuit IP, large variety of capacitor and resistor options, and full RF design enablement. Finally, it includes 4 metal stack options with 3 to 5 levels of metal wiring including ultra-thick metal enabling high quality inductors and low loss transmission lines. In addition to the core offering, we are continuously updating the 9SW platform with new features intended to improve performance. In August, we introduced additional features offering analog circuit area compaction, low-leakage switch devices, and new passive elements. Beyond that we are planning future new feature releases on an annual basis to further improve switch power handling, Ron*Coff, and low noise amplifier performance. Supporting more frequency bands, which will only intensify as we start getting into 6G, increases the need for miniaturization and integration on a smartphone. To address this, we are introducing 9SW-SlateTM technology. Leveraging 9SW, our 9SW-SlateTM technology utilizes two bonded 9SW wafers to shrink the die size without compromising its performance. With this approach we fold large switch FETs in high-stack configurations, reducing the overall die area by up to 45% while maintaining the switch performance. In addition to releasing the technology and demonstrating its performance with reference designs, we are developing design enablement tools to help designers migrate two-dimensional circuits to three dimensions, accelerate prototyping and reduce design cycles. If you’re interested in learning more about 9SW and the rest of GlobalFoundries’ RF offerings in RFSOI, SiGe and RF GaN, please join us at the upcoming GF Technology Summits in Santa Clara, Shanghai and Munich, as well as our GlobalFoundries Technology Training for our Aerospace and Defense customers in Washington, D.C. Alex Margomenos oversees the product management of the RF Product Line at GlobalFoundries. The RF Product Line encompasses RFSOI, RF GaN, and SiGe technologies, which support cellular RF front-ends, satellite communications, aerospace and defense, and cellular infrastructure. He has been with GlobalFoundries for four years. Previously, he held managerial and individual contributor positions at Apple, Intel, Infineon, and HRL Laboratories.
