News: Microelectronics
3 May 2024
Semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corp of Hsinchu, Taiwan has announced what it claims is the first 3D IC solution for radio-frequency silicon-on-insulator (RFSOI) technology. Available on UMC’s 55nm RFSOI platform, the stacked silicon technology reduces die size by more than 45% without any degradation of RF performance, enabling customers to efficiently integrate more RF components to address the greater bandwidth requirements of 5G.
Picture: UMC’s 3D IC solution for RFSOI reduces area by 45%, freeing up space for additional modules.
As mobile device manufacturers pack more frequency bands in newer generations of smartphones, the UMC’s 3D IC solution for RFSOI addresses the challenge of integrating more RF front-end modules (RF-FEM), for transmitting and receiving data, into a device by vertically stacking dies to reduce surface area. RFSOI is the foundry process used for RF chips such as low-noise amplifiers, switches and antenna tuners. Utilizing wafer-to-wafer bonding technology, UMC’s 3D IC solution for RFSOI resolves the common issue of RF interference between stacked dies. The firm has received multiple patents for this process, which is now ready for production.
“We are proud to lead the industry in offering this state-of-the-art solution utilizing our innovative 3D IC technology for RF-FEM. This groundbreaking technology not only solves the challenges of increased frequency band demands in smartphones in the 5G/6G era but also helps in mobile, IoT and virtual reality devices with faster data transfer by accommodating more frequency bands in parallel,” says Raj Verma, associate VP of technology development at UMC. The firm will continue to develop stacked die solutions to meet customers’ RF needs, such as for 5G millimeter-wave, in the future, he adds.
UMC announces 40nm RFSOI platform to accelerate 5G mmWave applications