We empower the future.

X-FAB enables next generation energy management and automation technologies.

Your foundry partner for industrial applications

The industrial applications of the future will be smart, able to sense and connected. Megatrends like the Internet of Things (IoT), smart buildings and cities, green and efficient energy solutions and, of course, Industry 4.0 are driving the implementation of new technologies and services into established markets. 

At X-FAB, we empower the future of the industrial electronics markets with our solutions for the next generation of energy management and automation technologies. Our offer includes:

  • High-voltage, high-power and high-temperature support for power applications
  • Versatile sensor and sensor interface technologies with CMOS and MEMS sensor solutions for environmental, motion and imaging sensors
  • Support of various industrial communication networking standards, such as IO-Link, industrial Ethernet and Fieldbus 
  • Robust and accurate analog/mixed-signal technologies for advanced motor drivers, gate drivers and control ICs

In addition to our open-platform technologies, we are offering wide-bandgap technologies, where we will support you with standard process blocks (SPB) that allow faster time to market and exploit economies of scale within the fab. However, you can also transfer your own SiC or GaN process to take full advantage of our long-standing semiconductor manufacturing know-how.

About 60% of X-FAB’s current customers in production address the industrial market and rely on X-FAB’s ability to provide volume production over a 10 to 15-year period.

Applications enabled by X-FAB technologies

For over 200 years, industrialization has been a motor for the development of humankind. While in the past electrification and automation were the driving forces, today digitalization and the connection of everything play the main role. The chips we manufacture are used in a variety of applications, ranging from power management to sensor applications and motor drives. 

  • Power management

    The efficient generation, conversion and storage of energy contribute significantly to sustainable power management. Our high-voltage technologies can be used to realize inverters for renewable energies or power management tools such as converters, power supplies or switched-mode power supplies. 

  • Factory automation

    Factory automation and industrial robotics are the key to efficient production. To enhance productivity, the whole production system is connected, equipped with sensors and actuators and augmented with digital interfaces to ensure safe and efficient human-machine co-working. 

  • Intelligent drives & motor control

    At the heart of every machine is a drive or a motor controlled by electronic circuits, which enables precise movement. Brushed or brushless DC motors or single- and three-phase AC motors are the most common ones. The inverters, switches, sensors and communication links they include can all be manufactured using our technologies. 

  • Smart buildings and cities

    In future cities, all buildings, infrastructure and transportation will be connected. All devices, from low-power home sensors to the megawatt energy transformers of public utilities, will be centrally managed to optimize the flow of data, energy and traffic. X-FAB supports those applications with its ultralow-power, high-voltage and RF SOI technologies

    Solutions we offer for industrial products

    X-FAB offers a broad range of high-performance open-platform technologies down to the 130 nm node. Our state-of-the-art 8-inch CMOS and SOI platforms can be complemented with specialties ranging from analog/mixed-signal functions to high-voltage options, embedded non-volatile memories, optical, RF and bipolar elements as well as microelectromechanical sensors. Additionally, we provide a variety of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) processing capabilities to support your wide-bandgap technologies.

    High-voltage CMOS and SiC processes enable integrated power electronics

    X-FAB’s technologies power applications up to several kV, including AC/DC converters and adapters, DC/DC switches and switching regulators, voltage regulators and driver circuitry. Our technology portfolio is topped with isolating technologies such as optocouplers and galvanic isolation technology to support advanced integrated power electronics solutions.

    • High-voltage 200 V, 400 V and 700 V MOS modules with ultrahigh-voltage metal modules and optional copper redistribution layer (XT018)
    • BCD-on-SOI platform with deep trench isolation and highly effective ESD protection, low-RDSon NMOS, virtually latch-up-free circuits and strong EMC performance (XT018)
    • SiC manufacturing capabilities for Schottky diodes up to 3.3 kV and (trench) JFET, MOSFET, junction transistors and thyristors up to 1.7 kV

    Integrated sensor and SoC technologies make augmented automation a reality

    X-FAB supports next-generation factory automation with an advanced set of sensor technologies for sensor, signal conditioning and signal processing applications. At smaller mixed-signal process nodes, all of the functions can be combined into a complex system-on-chip (SoC). Our technologies are used for environmental sensors (humidity, temperature, thermopile), optical and image sensors (PD, PIN diodes, APD, SPAD, CIS), inertial sensors (angle, motion, rotation, velocity, acceleration, gyroscope), current and voltage sensors (Hall sensors) as well as absolute and relative pressure sensors.

    • Benchmark-setting low-noise transistors with industry-lowest 1/f noise level and excellent matching behavior 
    • Characterized photo- and PIN diodes with wide wavelength range (UV, visible, IR) and fully integrated APD and SPAD with high photon detection probability and matching quenching circuit
    • MEMS sensor and actuator technologies with versatile etching technologies and fully characterized sensor IP blocks
    • Technologies for large-pixel and large-image sensors (XS018), including pinned photodiodes supporting three- and four-transistor designs, 1D and 2D stitching, color filters and micro lenses

    CMOS and RF solutions enable Internet of Things applications

    The increasing use of the Internet of Things (IoT) requires devices to become smart and connected, with special emphasis on low energy consumption. Our technologies support home appliances and industrial devices with a versatile sensor portfolio and ultralow-power technologies. Enhanced with a 130 nm RF SOI platform to enable both wired and wireless communication for IoT and 5G, X-FAB’s technology portfolio is well suited for most smart applications. 

    • Platforms with multiple low-power core modules (1.1 V or 1.8 V) and 3.3 V or 5.0 V CMOS modules and ultralow-power storage SRAM for field storage in terminals
    • Exclusive near-threshold voltage libraries and ultralow-leakage modules for low-power battery-operated smart devices (XH018)
    • Support of various industrial communication networking standards, such as IO-Link, industrial Ethernet and Fieldbus 
    • 130 nm modular and feature-rich RF SOI 2.5 V CMOS platform with hybrid Cu/Al metallization and integrated passive devices (XR013)

     

    High-voltage CMOS and non-volatile memory solutions power intelligent drives

    Industrial drives and motor controls need to meet the specific requirements of the respective application, be they drives for robotics, pumps or fans and cranes. The load, duty cycles and speed or acceleration of the motor require variable or constant power or torque that then define the type of motor (AC or DC, linear or servo, brushed or brushless, single- or three-phase) for the particular application. Our modular CMOS technologies support these challenging requirements with high-voltage options up to 700 V including a broad range of memory IP blocks. 

    • Powerful modular CMOS and SOI technology platforms with high-voltage devices from 10 V to 700 V including analog, sensor and opto modules
    • Extended temperature ranges from -40°C to 175°C supporting AEC-Q100 Grade 0 applications
    • Digital libraries with a variety of embedded non-volatile memory blocks for trimming, data storage and code storage functions, including eFlash, EEPROM, NVRAM, OTP, NV latches and poly fuses
    • Excellent EMI and EMC robustness, reduced cross-talk and handling of below-ground supply voltages and negative transients

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    Contact

    Ulrich Bretthauer

    Technical Marketing Manager
    Industrial

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