News: Microelectronics
17 January 2024
Tower collaborates with Renesas to manufacture SiGe-based beam-forming ICs
Specialty analog foundry Tower Semiconductor Ltd of Migdal Haemek, Israel is collaborating with Renesas, leveraging Tower’s high-volume and high-performance silicon germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technology to manufacture SiGe-based beam-forming ICs. Renesas’ portfolio of beam-forming products has already achieved design wins with key worldwide players across 5G, satcom, and aerospace & defense markets.
The satcom terrestrial terminal market is growing rapidly as satellite-based Internet services proliferate globally. According to market research firm Euroconsult, 71 million people were connected to satellite broadband services in 2022. With the rapid deployment of LEO satellite constellations, this is expected to double to over 150 million users in 2031. This translates to an increase of $400m in the average annual total addressable market (TAM) for SiGe wafers over the coming decade.
“The unique advantages of Tower’s SiGe BiCMOS technology have empowered us to design and manufacture highly integrated and power-efficient semiconductors that set new industry benchmarks,” says Naveen Yanduru, VP of RF Communications at Renesas. “As evidenced by our design wins and volume shipments, the displacement of mechanical antennas by highly agile electronically steered antennas (ESAs) is well underway and will continue to drive exponential SAM [serviceable addressable market] growth for beam-forming ICs in the coming years,” he adds. “With the continuously surging demand for millimeter-wave technology, our collaboration with Tower Semiconductor has positioned Renesas as a market leader.”
Renesas provides solutions for the telecoms industry and, through its collaboration with Tower, has made strides in the satcom and 5G markets. This capability played a significant role in enabling Renesas to establish and solidify its market leadership.
“Our global capacity and engineering agility will ensure Renesas has both the ability to develop new, high-performance products and deliver these in high-volume to their tier-1 customers,” says Tower’s president Dr Marco Racanelli.
Renesas’ portfolio of beam-forming products has achieved design wins with several strategic global customers including a tier-1 base-station manufacturer, a tier-1 satellite broadband service provider, a major defense contractor, and an antenna supplier for a major aircraft manufacturer, among others.
“Production for these design wins has commenced, and we are now shipping in volumes,” says Tumay Kanar, director at Renesas. “Volume production is being supported by Tower with its high yield and high reliability,” he adds.
