Finwave Semiconductor, Inc., a leading innovator in GaN (Gallium Nitride) technology, has signed a strategic technology development and licensing agreement with GlobalFoundries (GF), the world’s leading specialty foundry with a rich history of RF leadership. This partnership merges Finwave's cutting-edge GaN-on-Si technology with GF’s U.S.-based high-volume manufacturing capabilities and long legacy of RF innovation including industry-leading RF Silicon-On-Insulator and Silicon-Germanium solutions. The collaboration will focus on optimizing and scaling Finwave's innovative enhancement-mode (E-mode) MISHEMT technology to volume production at GF’s 200mm semiconductor manufacturing facility in Burlington, Vermont.
Finwave's advanced 200mm GaN-on-Si E-mode MISHEMT platform offers exceptional RF performance, delivering excellent gain and efficiency at sub-5V voltages, while ensuring high uniformity across 200mm wafers, as highlighted in Finwave’s recent presentation at the CS Mantech 2024 Industry Conference. Leveraging Finwave’s technology, GF’s comprehensive 90RFGaN platform will deliver high power density and efficiency, enabling high-performance, optimized devices that save on footprint and cost. This partnership presents a compelling solution for high-efficiency power amplifiers in applications where traditional GaAs and Si technologies fall short, including new higher frequency 5G FR2/FR3 bands, 6G and mmWave amplifiers, and high-power Wi-Fi 7 systems, where superior range and efficiency are critical.
“This agreement marks a significant milestone for Finwave,” said Finwave Semiconductor CEO Dr. Pierre-Yves Lesaicherre. “By leveraging GlobalFoundries’ extensive manufacturing capabilities and bringing Finwave’s E-mode MISHEMT technology breakthrough to volume production, we are unlocking large growth opportunities as we address the increasingly demanding wireless communication landscape. This partnership opens the door to further innovation and integration of RF Front-Ends onto a single GaN-on-Si device. This has never been done before, and has the potential to reduce cost and size, both of which are at a premium in cellphones.”
“As next-generation wireless networks require devices that operate at higher frequencies, Finwave’s low-voltage GaN-on-Si technology combined with GF’s 90RFGaN platform will become a vital part of power amplifiers in future mobile phones, ensuring both robust performance and high-power efficiency,” said Shankaran Janardhanan, Vice President and General Manager of GF’s RF Business.
Finwave’s E-mode MISHEMT technology, developed over more than a decade of research and innovation, has been supported by federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) through its Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program, as well as private investments from deep-tech investors and strategic partners.
Leveraging GF’s high-volume CMOS manufacturing capabilities, Finwave and GlobalFoundries aim to qualify this technology for mass production in the first half of 2026.
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