14 November 2016

Anokiwave leveraging GlobalFoundries' 130nm SiGe technologies

Anokiwave Inc of San Diego, CA, USA, which provides highly integrated silicon core chips and III-V front-end integrated circuits for millimeter-wave (mmW) markets and active electronically scanned array (AESA)-based terminals, is collaborating with GlobalFoundries of Santa Clara, CA, USA (one of the world's largest semiconductor foundries, with more than 250 customers and operations in Singapore, Germany and the USA) to deliver silicon core ICs for the emerging mmWave active antenna markets.

Active antennas have been used in military phase-array radar systems for many years and are now being deployed in record numbers in a wide range of commercial applications, says Anokiwave. The highly anticipated roll out of 5G infrastructure is expected to utilize active antenna technologies in both base stations as well as handsets.

Anokiwave says that silicon technology is playing a major role in reducing the cost of these new active antennas as well as offering unprecedented levels of functional integration, allowing the beam-steering application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to reside within the lattice of the array (resulting in low profile, planar arrays). Silicon-based active antennas will be key to the success of 5G networks operating at millimeter-wave frequencies, the firm reckons.

Leveraging GlobalFoundries' 130nm high-performance silicon germanium (SiGe) platform, Anokiwave will gain early access to new technology developed by GlobalFoundries, allowing accelerated product development that is expected to result in unprecedented time-to-market for users seeking high-performance SiGe solutions in the RF front end of 5G and fixed-wireless millimeter-wave infrastructure and other mmWave phased-array consumer applications.

"GlobalFoundries' world-class process technologies, process modeling, and packaging technologies combined with Anokiwave's team of established industry experts in IC and system design deliver the world's most advanced IC solutions for mmWave applications," reckons Anokiwave's CEO Robert Donahue. "Anokiwave and GlobalFoundries are innovating and delivering core ICs that will revolutionize emerging 5G, radar and SatCom markets with affordable active antenna solutions," he adds.

"Working with innovative companies like Anokiwave, in the early stage of technology development, enables functions and features that are tuned to marketplace requirements," comments Bami Bastani, senior VP of GlobalFoundries' RF business unit. "GlobalFoundries' SiGe 8HP and 8XP technologies enable customers to develop differentiated RF solutions for next-generation mobile and infrastructure systems."

GlobalFoundries' 8XP 130nm BiCMOS SiGe technology process blends high-performance bipolar and power-efficient MOS devices with the ability to integrate mmWave, analog and digital functionality on a single IC. The unique functionality of the 8XP process has allowed Anokiwave to reach what are reckoned to be unprecedented levels of integration, enabling low-cost planar arrays for mmW applications.

See related items:

GlobalFoundries releases 130nm SiGe 8XP performance-enhanced RF technology, optimized for 5G wireless networks

Tags: Radar GLOBALFOUNDRIES SiGe

Visit: www.anokiwave.com

Visit: www.globalfoundries.com/SiGe