RF and Wireless
Around 25% of the smartphones shipped worldwide contain a chip produced by X-FAB.
Areas of expertise
RF SOI
Our RF SOI technology is made available through a 130 nm feature-rich, modular RF platform that allows you to achieve low-loss, high-isolation and low-noise RF designs.
RF CMOS
Our RF CMOS technology enables a comprehensive 180 nm and 350 nm portfolio that also supports high-voltage, optoelectronic and high-temperature devices.
BiCMOS
Our BiCMOS technology is provided through a 0.60 µm modular platform for mixed high-precision analog and digital designs and RF circuits.
Solutions
RF SOI platform – XR013
RF CMOS
350 nm high-temperature modular mixed-signal technology
The XA035 series is our 350 nm high-temperature CMOS technology. While being best suited for high-temperature automotive and industrial products with operating temperatures of up to 175°C, XA035 is also targeted at medical and avionic markets. All modules are comparable in design rules and transistor performance with our corporate state-of-the-art 350 nm CMOS processes.
Comprehensive design rules, precise SPICE models, analog and digital libraries, IPs and development kits support the process on platforms supplied by the major EDA tool vendors.
Key features:
- 3.3 V logic layout & performance compatible with XH035 and the industry standard
- 350 nm single poly, triple metal N-well CMOS basic process
- Extended high temperature characterization, up to 175°C operating temperature, beyond AEC-Q100 requirement
- Improved ESD robust devices
- Very high resistivity poly resistor module
- Double poly Capacitor module
- Single and double metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors
- Isolated MOS module
- Mid and thick gate oxide modules for high-voltage transistors
- Depletion NMOS module
- Buried N module
- Tiny EEPROM or core EEPROM modules
- Flat passivation module
- Polyimide module
- Thick top metal-3 or metal-4 modules
- Lifetime Calculator tool for device reliability estimation based on automotive mission profile
- Input/output cell library with 4 kV human body model ESD protection levels
- RF characterization and models for all RF MOS transistors and passive components
- Comprehensive PDK support for Cadence, Mentor, Synopsys and Tanner
350 nm modular mixed-signal technology with high-voltage extensions
The XH035 series is our 350 nm modular mixed-signal technology. Main target applications are standard cell, semi-custom and full custom designs for industrial, automotive and telecommunication products. Based on a single-poly, triple-metal 350 nm drawn gate length process for digital applications, it features core and process modules such as low-Vt, low-leakage, embedded non-volatile memory and high-voltage options, as well as standard or thick fourth layer of metal, double-poly and MIM capacitors and high-resistivity polysilicon. MOS and bipolar transistors are also available. World-class low-noise PMOS and NMOS transistors make this technology the first choice for applications requiring very low noise and high signal-to-noise ratios. A suite of RF active and passive components is also available.
DMOS transistors are available for multiple operating voltages up to 100 V. The 45 V DMOS transistors come with a 45% lower on-resistance, which can reduce the chip area by up to 40%, resulting in significant cost savings.
The 3.3 V CMOS cores are compatible in design rules and transistor performance with state-of-the-art 350 nm CMOS processes.
Key features:
- Standard, low threshold or low leakage 3.3 V or standard 5 V core module
- 350 nm single poly, triple metal CMOS basic process with modular concept (1P3M)
- 5 V dual gate or 5 V only module
- Four layers metal options for high density circuits
- Thick top metal for inductors and Smart Power applications
- Low noise and medium voltage PMOS and NMOS transistors
- Compact high-voltage devices
- Isolated MOS module
- Mid and thick gate oxide modules for high-voltage transistors
- Depletion NMOS module
- Buried N module
- Core module EEPROM, tiny EEPROM, programmable polyfuse
- Very high resistivity poly resistor module
- Single, double metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors
- Stacked MIM and poly-insulator-poly (PIP) capacitors with high capacitance area
- Thick top metal-3 or metal-4 modules
- Special opto modules to increase optical sensitivity and reduce dark current
- Photodiode module
- Pixel module
- Integrated MEMS Pressure Sensors module.
- Polyimide module for stress relief & passivation protection
- Input/output cell library with 4 kV human body model ESD protection levels
- Cadence, Mentor, Synopsys and Tanner PDK support
350 nm modular CMOS technology for fast optical applications
XO035 is our specialized process for optoelectronic and high-speed RF applications. It is especially suited for applications needing sensitive high-bandwidth photodiode arrays or CMOS image sensors, such as optical data storage, optical data communication or high dynamic range cameras.
In addition to the single-poly, triple-metal 350 nm drawn gate length process for digital applications, process modules are available for 5 V drain source and isolated transistors, double-poly and MIM capacitors and high-resistivity poly resistors.
Special optoelectronic process modules allow an optimized PIN cathode implantation, optical window etching and dedicated antireflective coating (ARC) layer deposition. Bipolar and MOS Transistors are available so is a suite of RF active and passive components. A highly sensitive PIN diode supports wavelengths from 400nm to 900nm, optimized for maximum quantum efficiency at blue light.
Key features:
- 3.3 V logic layout & performance compatible with the industry standard
- 350 nm single poly, triple metal, N-well CMOS basic process (1P3M)
- High bandwidth, high sensitivity PIN diode
- Modular concept
- 5 V dual gate module
- Single and double metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors for RF and high linear applications
- High resistivity poly resistor module
- Well isolated 3.3 V and 5 V devices
- Mid gate oxide (5 V) module
- Diode and MOS varactors
- Four layers metal options for high density circuits
- Competitive RF performance
- Optical module
- Input/output cell library with 4kV HBM ESD protection levels
- Diva, Dracula, Assura, Calibre, Hercules DRC & LVS and parasitic extraction
- RF characterization and models for all RF MOS transistors and passive components
BiCMOS
Applications
- Cellular handsets and tablets
Cellular handsets and tablets supporting cellular air standards from 2G to 5G New Radio (Sub-6 GHz) require numerous RF components between the modem IC and the antennas, called the RF front-end. For these RF front-ends, our RF technologies enable high-performance RF switches, low-noise amplifiers and antenna tuners.
The key parameters of such RF components are low insertion losses (low Ron) and high isolation (low Coff) together with high linearity. These parameters translate into battery savings and long communication range for the end product.
- WLAN connectivity
The Wi-Fi standard has become part of our everyday lives at home, at work, on the road – everywhere. The latest Wi-Fi 6 standard brings enhanced broadband connection to users’ smartphones and set-top boxes, as well as higher capacity to customer-premises equipment and access points. These use cases are made possible by our RF technologies for WLAN front-ends.
RF switches and low-noise amplifiers based on our RF SOI or RF CMOS process are among the key components making up WLAN RF front-ends that allow you to share the smartphone content on a Smart TV, for instance.
- Base stations and small cells
Small cells bring a significant network coverage improvement for 4G and 5G standards, but also for legacy standards (2G and 3G). In addition to small cells, 5G macro cells or massive MIMO (mMIMO) are also used to improve network coverage.
Due to the lower power level requirements of small cells, our RF SOI technology is a perfect candidate for the necessary RF front-end components. In remote radio head and active antenna systems for 5G mMIMO macro cells, our XR013-based RF switches and low-noise amplifiers provide attractive RF performance to ensure a reliable communication link.
- V2X communication
Reducing road fatalities is a common goal of all automotive players worldwide. In this context, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication based on either the cellular (LTE/5G PC5) or Wi-Fi (802.11p) standard plays an essential part in efforts to reduce the number of car accidents.
As an extension of the solutions we provide for cellular handsets and WLAN connectivity, our RF SOI or BiCMOS technologies enable the design of key RF front-end components that make highly reliable, low-latency communication between vehicles possible.
- IoT devices
Smartphones and computers are not the only devices connected to a network. Internet of Things (IoT) devices use various wireless standards (Sigfox, LoRa, etc.), but need to meet mainly one requirement: low-power communication.
Our RF CMOS technology provides cost effective one chip solution for an IoT transceiver whereas our RF SOI process combines both low power consumption and good RF performances.The intrinsic advantages of the SOI technology such as low power supply voltage and low capacitance, can also be leveraged, for instance, for the digital integration in RFID transceiver chips.
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Contact
David Auffret
Technical Marketing Manager
RF
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