GLOBALFOUNDRIES unveiled a new 12nm FD-SOI semiconductor technology, extending their leadership position by offering the industry’s first multi-node FD-SOI roadmap. Building on the success of their 22FDX™ offering, the company’s next-generation 12FDX™ platform is designed to enable the intelligent systems of tomorrow across a range of applications, from mobile computing and 5G connectivity to artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles.
As the world becomes more and more integrated through billions of connected devices, many emerging applications demand a new approach to semiconductor innovation. The chips that make these applications possible are evolving into mini-systems, with increased integration of intelligent components including wireless connectivity, non-volatile memory, and power management-all while driving ultra-low power consumption. Their new 12FDX technology is specifically architected to deliver these unprecedented levels of system integration, design flexibility, and power scaling.
12FDX sets a new standard for system integration, providing an optimized platform for combining radio frequency (RF), analog, embedded memory, and advanced logic onto a single chip. The technology also provides the industry’s widest range of dynamic voltage scaling and unmatched design flexibility via software-controlled transistors-capable of delivering peak performance when and where it is needed, while balancing static and dynamic power for the ultimate energy efficiency.
Some applications require the unsurpassed performance of FinFET transistors, but the vast majority of connected devices need high levels of integration and more flexibility for performance and power consumption, at costs FinFET cannot achieve. The 22FDX and 12FDX technologies fill a gap in the industry’s roadmap by providing an alternative path for the next generation of connected intelligent systems. And with their FDX platforms, the cost of design is significantly lower, reopening the door for advanced node migration and spurring increased innovation across the ecosystem.
The new 12FDX technology from GLOBALFOUNDRIES is built on a 12nm fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) platform, enabling the performance of 10nm FinFET with better power consumption and lower cost than 16nm FinFET. The platform offers a full node of scaling benefit, delivering a 15 percent performance boost over today’s FinFET technologies and as much as 50 percent lower power consumption.
Chip manufacturing is no longer one-shrink-fits-all. While FinFET is the technology of choice for the highest-performance products, the industry roadmap is less clear for many cost-sensitive mobile and IoT products, which require the lowest possible power while still delivering adequate clock speeds. The 22FDX and 12FDX technologies are well positioned to fill this gap by offering an alternative migration path for advanced node designs, particularly those seeking to reduce power without increasing die cost. Today, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the only purveyor of FD-SOI at 22nm and below, giving it a clear differentiation.
FD-SOI technology can provide real-time trade-offs in power, performance and cost for those needing to differentiate their designs. It delivers the industry’s first FD-SOI roadmap that brings the lowest cost migration path for advanced node design, enabling tomorrow's connected systems for Intelligent Clients, 5G, AR/VR, Automotive markets.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Fab 1 in Dresden, Germany is currently putting the conditions in place to enable the site's 12FDX development activities and subsequent manufacturing. Customer product tape-outs are expected to begin in the first half of 2019.
