Peregrine to manufacture 180-nanometer silicon-on-sapphire CMOS RF integrated circuits on IBM's 8-inch fab
SAN DIEGO, 11 May 2010.Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. in San Diego is working together with IBM Corp. to develop future generations of Peregrine’s UltraCMOS silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) radio frequency complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (RF CMOS) integrated circuit process.
IBM will manufacture the next-generation UltraCMOS RF ICs for Peregrine in a 180-nanometer process that Peregrine and IBM developed together at IBM's 8-inch semiconductor manufacturing facility in Burlington, Vt.
Peregrine’s UltraCMOS technology is for applications such as space satellite systems; RF signal conditioning; broadband communications including 4G LTE equipment and base stations; multi-band mobile wireless devices; mobile DTV/CATV; and the RF front-end of mobile phones.
This development marks the first commercial use of 8-inch wafer processing for silicon-on-sapphire process -- a variation of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology that incorporates an ultra-thin layer of silicon on a insulating sapphire substrate, Peregrine officials say.
Migration to 8-inch wafers helps move the process to advanced 180-, 130-, and 90-nanometer nodes.
Collaboration between the two companies began in 2008 as the ability to use CMOS for RF designs emerged as a viable alternative to compound semiconductor processes such as gallium arsenide (GaAs). The benefits of CMOS include reliability, cost-effectiveness, high yields, portability, scalability, and integration.
For more information contact Peregrine Semiconductor online at www.psemi.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
