Anokiwave has announced a collaboration with GLOBALFOUNDRIES to deliver core ICs that will revolutionize emerging 5G, RADAR, and SATCOM markets with affordable active antenna solutions.
Using GLOBALFOUNDRIES 130nm high-performance silicon-germanium (SiGe) technology platform, Anokiwave will gain early access to a new technology developed by GLOBALFOUNDRIES, allowing accelerated product development that will speed up time-to-market for customers seeking high-performance SiGe solutions in the RF front end of 5G and Fixed Wireless Millimeter Wave infrastructure and other mmWave phased array consumer applications.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES 8XP 130nm BiCMOS SiGe technology process blends high performance bipolar and power efficient MOS devices, with the ability to integrate mmWave, analog, and digital functionality on a single IC. The unique functionality of the 8XP process has allowed Anokiwave to reach unprecedented levels of integration, enabling low cost planar arrays for mmW applications.
Active antennas have been used in military phase-array radar systems for many years and are now being deployed in record numbers in a wide range of commercial applications. The highly anticipated roll out of 5G infrastructure is expected to utilize active antenna technologies in both base stations as well as handsets.
Silicon technology is playing a major role in reducing the cost of these new active antennas as well as offering unprecedented levels of functional integration by allowing beam steering ASICs to reside within the lattice of the array resulting in low profile, planar arrays. Silicon based active antennas will be a key to the success of 5G networks operating at millimeter-wave frequencies.
