Pure-play foundry United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) is production ready with a 40 nm 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) radio frequency (RF) front-end silicon on insulator (SOI) process technology.
The products are designed to help in the proliferation of 5G wireless networks and applications such as smartphones, fixed wireless access (FWA) systems and small cell base stations.
The platform, called 40RFSOI, is optimized for manufacturing of RF switches, low noise amplifiers and power amplifiers capable of handling the wider bandwidth of mmWave frequencies. The process technology can be used to design integrated RF chips that combines beamformers, core and passive devices as well as front-end components, UMC said.
“The full potential of 5G hinges on the mainstream rollout of mmWave to deliver the speed and capacity required for virtual and augmented reality, smart cities, industrial automation, and applications in healthcare,” said Raj Verma, associate VP of technology development at UMC. Verma added UMC is already working with customers on the process technology with volume production slated for early 2024.
The RF silicon on insulator technology from UMC ranges from 8 inch to 12 inch wafer manufacturing and the company’s 55 nm RFSOI technology has been in production for years for the 5G sub-8 GHz market.
