Pure-play foundry Globalfoundries is working with nanoelectronics research centerimec for future radios, mobile devices and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
The foundry is working with imec to investigate low-power and compact high-performance radio products that will allow for new architectures to be developed that will improve performance and power consumption. The duo is also working on low-power chip designs in Globalfoundries’ CMOS technology to address next-generation IoT devices.
Globalfoundries said a challenge facing manufacturers of future mobile handsets is lowering the cost and the footprint of the radio and antenna interface circuity. While most devices today support up to 28 bands for 2G, 3G, 4G and LTE, future generations will need more aggregation schemes and additional frequency bands. So by working on future generation of agile radios that integrate many of the separate components into one piece of silicon, it could provide a more flexible and low cost manufacturing option, Globalfoundries said.
Peter Rabbeni, director of RF segment marketing at Globalfoundries, said in a statement the partnership extends the relationship the foundry already has with imec and the project will “extend the range of wireless communication applications without increase the form factor or cost.”
Harmke de Groot, senior director for the Internet of Things at imec, said in the same statement that there are advanced challenges that are need to be addressed such as enabling “a higher level of integration and lower power consumption for future wireless communication.”
Questions or comments on this story? Contact peter.brown@globalspec.com
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