Product

Soitec eSI wafers are used for the fabrication of high-performance, competitively-priced radiofrequency circuits for applications that include new-generation smartphones. The substrate delivers faster, more reliable data transmission to meet the needs of 3G, 4G, and LTE Advanced networks. Soitec RFeSI-SOI wafers incorporate an innovative material (a trap-rich layer) between the high-resistivity handle wafer and the buried oxide (BOx), which limits the parasite surface conduction of standard HR-SOI and significantly improves the RF performance of the finished ICs manufactured on these wafers, enhancing RF isolation, lowering insertion loss, boosting thermal conductivity, and improving signal integrity. The substrate, which allows more flexible design rules, can also help reduce the number of steps in the manufacturing process, lowering production costs and enabling smaller chip sizes for the same function. The product targets RF circuit designers and manufacturers (front-end modules with power amplifiers, antenna switches, and transmitter-receivers) serving consumer electronics and, especially, smartphone and tablet manufacturers.

L'histoire du produit

A patent was obtained for the Trap-Rich technology in 2005 as a result of RF substrate development work carried out with the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. The technology was developed further in partnership with Leti under the Nanosmart program from 2006 to 2011. Prototypes were developed in 2009 in conjunction with Skyworks and RFMD. Industrial-scale manufacturing for the mobile telephone antenna switch market was launched in 2012. The substrate became a true commercial success two years later, in 2014, rounding out Soitec's product lines to cover 100% of the 20-billion-unit RF IC market.