soi applications -- an overview and some examples

Adele Hars, ASN Editor-in-ChiefShanghai, March 2015

SOI-Based Applications

A brief overview, and some examples.

SOI – Making a Difference

● Lower power. Yes.● Higher performance. Yes.● Smaller, faster, cooler. Yes.● Able to go into hot and noisy places. Yes.

But what does that mean for the end products?

Partially-depleted still lives, and fully-depleted is older than you might think

IBM Z13, announced January 2015. Handles 2.5 billion transactions a day. Power processor on 22nm partially depleted SOI.

Casio G-Shock, gets power from the sun and time from an atomic clock. Chip by Oki on fully depleted SOI. Introduced in 2005.

FD-SOI – Is it really happening?● ST says they have 18 design wins as of January

2015.● Synapse Design has worked on 7 projects and

sees more coming in.● Verisilicon has some in the pipeline.● GlobalFoundries has indicated they have

customers lined up.● Samsung is offering it on a foundry basis.

Now finally, people are starting to talk.

FD-SOI: Who's talking?The Sony 28nm GPS

January 2015, Sony revealed that the company’s next-generation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) chip will be on 28nm FD-SOI.

Power consumption is reduced by 10x over the previous generation, making it appropriate for IoT and wearables.

You can get Sony's technical presentation at

www.soiconsortium.org.

FD-SOI: Who's talking?Freescale, Cisco, Ciena

Freescale's next-generation i.MX 7 heterogeneous multicore SoloX application processors will be on 28nm FD-SOI. Featuring device-level security, they are being pitched to “secure” IoT applications, including automotive (telematics, V2V, entry-level infotainment) and smart devices (healthcare, home appliances and factory automation).

Cisco and Ciena also announce 28nm FD-SOI chips in the pipeline.

(EETimes)

Ciena at SOI Forum San Francisco, Feb 2015

FD-SOI: Who's talking?Fabless startups.

SFARDS, a Beijing-based start-up announced in February 2015 that their new cryptocurrency solution would incorporate a 28nm FD-SOI ASIC for low power & high performance.The test results of their first silicon in April 2015 were even better than expected, with working voltage at 0.45V.

http://www.sfards.com/blog

Foundries mean business.● We know of three foundries for FD-SOI for now:

– ST – not high volume, but driving the technology

– Samsung – partnered with ST, has the high-volume capacity

– GlobalFoundries – has not officially announced, but is presenting their plans at conferences

● If they're offering it, it's because they have customers.

Samsung at SOI Forum in San Francisco, Feb 2015

11

GlobalFoundries at SOI Consortium Conference – Shanghai Sep 2014

FD-SOI on the Road With ST

● Note that ST also some SOI-based BCD for automotive & power apps

SOI substrates for IoT & more

Courtesy: Soitec

RF-SOI – everybody's doing it

RF-SOI full adoptionIn 100% of the SmartPhone - Worldwide foundry offering

switch

Source: Navian, Dec 2014 Source: Navian, Dec 2014

More than 15 foundries, Soitec estimates

…

4/15/15Confidential 17

Fabless and foundries are constantly improving design and process performance to meet LTE-A requirements

• Found ry p rocess

Source: A. Joshi, Skyworks, S3S conference 2014

• RF-SOI in m ost advanced LTE-A Sm artPhone– iPhone 6 RF -SO I con ten t (So itec estim a tes)

– In 8 ICs: SKW S – RFMD – Avago – Murata - Triqu int

4/15/15Confidential 18

RF-SOI – automotive & telematics?

Broadcomm slide from Semicon China 2015

Automotive apps – a motor for SOI

Automotive – NXP Drives SOI Everywhere

NXP SOI-based chips are in cars from virtually every brand in the world

For in-vehicle networking, audio, headlights, sensors, entertainment

With Freescale acquisition, NXP is #1 in autoHigh growth market. Today: 800 chips/car. In 2020: 1000 chips/car.

Denso: >20 years of SOI for Automotive in Japan

Denso began using SOI in 1994. Denso and Toyota developed this SOI-based power supply management ECU. It calculates the battery charge rate and internal resistance using battery voltage and current. When the battery charge rate is low, the ECU increases the alternator’s adjustment voltage for generating electricity or raises the engine revolutions during idling to stimulate battery charging. (Courtesy: Denso, Toyota)

Automotive SOI in Japan – Toyota's Long History

In 2004, Toyota developed SOI-based technology for electronic control units (ECUs).The starting substrate is a 200mm bonded-SOI wafer, with a very thick (12 μm) top silicon layer, specially tailored to Toyota's design, which reduced chip cost. Range of ICs included throttle control, suspension control, body control, hybrid control and brake control. Courtesy: Toyota

Automotive: Size Matters Compared to bulk BCDMOS, Atmel found its SOI-based SMART-I.S. Technology benefits include:

● significant chip size reduction, which reduces packaging costs & overall system costs

● improved EMC: drastic reduction in the influence of parasitic effects

● reduced standby current no latch-up effects

● high energy efficiency: leakage current is up to two orders of magnitude lower

● very high temperature operation (up to TJunction =200°C)

● 30% reduction in on-resistance (Ron) of the driver stages

● improved device characteristics, since the PN-junction isolation is replaced by oxide isolation.

Automotive SOI at Atmel: Comfort & Best-of-Class

Unlike standalone transceivers, Atmel’s LIN* system basis chips (SBC) include a voltage regulator plus a watchdog, enabling a very small footprint and a 25% reduction in system cost.

These chips target “comfort” applications such as door modules, seat control or intelligent sensors, as well as powertrain applications such as engine control systems.

*LIN = industry standard for in-vehicle networking, especially for decentralized implementations.

Atmel credits its SOI technology with its benchmark-setting EMI performance and best-in-class ESD protection.

MEMS – for the Road, for Time

Courtesy: Leti, Freescale Courtesy: SiTime

MEMS – For Better Living

Debiotech & ST – insulin for diabetesTronics accelerometer for a pacemaker

Sensors – SOI Makes Sense

Courtesy: Gefran

Courtesy: NXP

SOI Power Gets Smart

ConclusionMarket BCDMOS SOI

Courtesy: Soitec

Power for Control

Infineon's IBGT's for motor control in white

goodsThe Infineon EiceDRIVER™ Compact family supports a broad range of applications with MOSFETs as well as IGBTs up to 6A output current.

(Courtesy: Infineon)

SOI For the Real World

Courtesy: Texas Instruments

Power to Stay Healthy

Courtesy: STMicroelectronics Courtesy: Hitachi

SOI Power to the Plug

Courtesy: NXP

SOI – When It Gets Really HotCissoid – fabless, IP &

discretes for up to 250C

Now looking for opportunities in automotive...

Fraunhofer

Courtesy: Fraunhofer

Courtesy: Cissoid

SOI – Higher and Higher

SOI Shines a Light

Courtesy: NXP

Photonics – SOI Today

Cisco's line of Lightwire advanced optical interconnect technology for high-speed networking applications.

Courtesy: Cisco

Photonics – Coming Soon

SOI for RFID

SOI for BSI Imaging

Courtesy: STMicroelectronics

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Thank you!

Special thanks to Soitec, ST, and all the SOI users and members of the SOI Consortium for

permission to use their pictures.

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