RFMD announces new pHEMT process technologies for foundry customers

GREENSBORO, USA: RF Micro Devices Inc. announced that its Foundry Services business unit has expanded its portfolio of process technologies to include two additional GaAs process technologies – RFMD's FD25 low noise pHEMT process and RFMD's FET1H switching pHEMT process. The two additional GaAs pHEMT process technologies are available immediately to foundry customers.

RFMD's 0.25-micron FD25 pHEMT process technology delivers low noise, medium power and high linearity for applications including low noise front ends and transmitter MMICs. RFMD's 0.6-micron FET1H pHEMT process technology delivers low noise and high linearity switching of RF signals for applications including wireless front ends, transmit/receive modules and phased arrays.

The two new process technologies complement RFMD's existing 0.3-micron FD30 pHEMT process technology, which was made available to foundry customers in 2010 and is optimized for applications including X-band phased array power amplifiers and 8-16 GHz wideband military EW jammers.

The rapid growth in the wireless communications, aerospace and defense, and radar/radar jammer markets continues throughout the world, driven by end applications requiring the higher levels of integration enabled by leading semiconductor technologies. This increases the need for semiconductor foundries to develop and offer world-class technologies with flexible high performance capabilities. RFMD's low noise FD25 and high linearity switch FET1H technologies, along with RFMD's existing FD30 0.3-micron power process technology, offer customers the ability to design and manufacture world-class devices for a wide range of application needs.

Bob Van Buskirk, president of RFMD's Multi-Market Products Group (MPG), said: "Our FD25 0.25-micron and FET1H 0.6-micron processes further expand on our goal to provide the wireless industry a technically advanced semiconductor foundry service offering. We are pleased to expand and grow our foundry services business beyond our current GaN and GaAs offerings to assist our customers in meeting their individual market and product needs."