SAN DIEGO & NEWPORT BEACH, USA: The University of California, San Diego (UCSD), provider of a leading program in microwave and millimeter-wave RFICs and mixed-signal, and Jazz Semiconductor, a Tower Group Company have collaborated to develop a two-antenna quad-beam RFIC phased array receiver covering the 11-15GHz frequency range.
First time success was achieved using Jazz Semiconductor’s high performance 0.18-micron SiGe BiCMOS process and its own proprietary models, kit and DIRECT MPW (Multiproject Wafer) program. The chip was designed and tested by the Electrical and Computer Engineering School at UCSD, and was sponsored by the DARPA RF VLSI program, Dr. Mark Rosker, Program Monitor.
“UCSD believes that the quad-beam phased array receiver will enable high-performance phased arrays for satellite communications by integrating many functions on the same silicon chip and replacing several GaAs ICs, drastically lowering the cost of phased array assembly,” said Dr. Gabriel M. Rebeiz, Professor of Electrical Engineering at UCSD, a co-developer of this chip.
“Our success in developing this first-of-a-kind chip depended largely on Jazz’s 0.18-micron SiGe BiCMOS process, models and design kit. We view Jazz as a leading specialty foundry with unrivaled design enablement capabilities.”
This is the first demonstration of a single silicon chip capable of producing four simultaneous beams from two different antennas, and together with all the necessary CMOS controlling circuits. Alternatively, this chip can be connected to a single antenna with two different polarization ports, thereby allowing the formation of four simultaneous beams of different polarizations.
The four simultaneous phased-array beams can be all at the same frequency, or placed randomly at any frequency in the 11-15 GHz range. Each beam can operate over an instantaneous bandwidth of > 1 GHz with 4-bit amplitude and phase control.
As the chip creates four simultaneous beams from the antennas, these beams can point to different areas in the sky (i.e. different angles), preventing the signal gathered in beam 1 to couple to beam 2, and enables at least 30 dB isolation between the two beams.
The SiGe BiCMOS chip operates from a 3.3 V supply, is only 2.4x4.3 mm2, replaces at least 8 GaAs chips, and allows a new generation of high-performance multi-beam phased arrays for X to Ku-Band applications.
The SBC18HX process offers high-performance 0.18-micron SiGe bipolar and high quality passive elements combined with high density 0.18-micron CMOS, ideal for high-speed networking and millimeter wave applications. This leading edge process achieves an Ft of 155GHz and an Fmax of 200GHz.
"We are pleased with the results achieved by UCSD with its RFIC quad-beam phased array receiver and are excited to enable an innovative technology designed to address the needs of high data-rate communications and satellite-based systems markets,” said David Howard, Executive Director of New Product Technology at Jazz Semiconductor.
“This collaboration demonstrates the capabilities of the highly advanced specialty wafer processes, models and kits we offer to our customers.”
“The chip is currently being transitioned by the US Office of Naval Research to a 1000+ element phased-array capable of four simultaneous beams at Ku-Band, and a contract to a leading US defense company was recently issued based on this chip,” added Dr. Rebeiz.
The chip is available from UCSD and interested parties should contact Prof. Gabriel M. Rebeiz; Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering at UCSD.
Showing posts with label Jazz Semiconductor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jazz Semiconductor. Show all posts
Friday, July 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Foundry semiconductor market to rise in Q2
EL SEGUNDO, USA: After three quarters of contraction, the pure-play foundry semiconductor manufacturing industry will enjoy robust growth in the second quarter—but how long will the good times last?
Global revenue for pure-play foundries, i.e., companies dedicated to producing semiconductors on behalf of other chipmakers, is set to rise to $3.6 billion in the second quarter, up 59.3 percent from $2.2 billion in the first. The increase follows a 1.8 percent sequential decrease in the third quarter of 2008, a 32.3 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008 and a 38.2 percent plunge in the first quarter of 2009.
“The foundry market in the second quarter is benefitting from both a major reduction in semiconductor inventories throughout the electronics supply chain and innovative new designs requiring innovative technology,” said Len Jelinek, director and principal analyst, semiconductor manufacturing, for iSuppli Corp. “However, while this growth will come as a relief to the foundries, it will not result in 2009 being a growth year for the foundry industry. Sustainable semiconductor growth will come only when the global economy recovers and consumers return to more normal patterns of purchases.”
For all of 2009, the pure-play foundry market will underperform the overall semiconductor industry, with foundries suffering a revenue decline of 26.5 percent.
Q1 catastrophe
Global pure-play foundry revenue in the first quarter of 2009 fell by 57.7 percent from $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2008.
The foundry market’s disastrous performance in the first quarter was reflected in the weak results of the Top-10 players, nine of which suffered double-digit percentage declines in revenue, both on a sequential and a year-over-year basis.
The table presents iSuppli’s ranking of the world’s Top-10 pure-play foundries in the first quarter.
iSuppli Table: Worldwide Pure-Play Foundry Ranking for Q1 2009 (Ranking by Revenue in Millions of US Dollars)
Source: iSuppli, June 2009
The best performers among the Top-10 were Chartered Semiconductor and the newly-combined Tower Semiconductor Ltd. and Jazz Semiconductor Inc.
No.-3 ranked Chartered managed to outperform the overall foundry market by limiting its year-over-year sales decline to 43.4 percent. Company market share increased to 11.3 percent in the first quarter of 2009, up 2.8 points from 8.5 percent during the same period in 2008.
Tower’s revenue remained flat compared to a year earlier, allowing the company to expand its share by 1.5 points to 2.6 percent, up from 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
“Chartered’s and Tower’s relatively strong performances in the first quarter were due to acquisitions that expanded their revenue, rather than organic growth,” Jelinek said.
Chartered purchased an 8-inch manufacturing facility previously operated by Hitachi Semiconductor, while Tower acquired Jazz.
“Although 2009 will continue to be a challenging year for pure-play foundries, those companies that took aggressive actions to strategically prepare for the future in the second half of 2008 will emerge with increased market share and financial strength,” Jelinek said.
Global revenue for pure-play foundries, i.e., companies dedicated to producing semiconductors on behalf of other chipmakers, is set to rise to $3.6 billion in the second quarter, up 59.3 percent from $2.2 billion in the first. The increase follows a 1.8 percent sequential decrease in the third quarter of 2008, a 32.3 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008 and a 38.2 percent plunge in the first quarter of 2009.
“The foundry market in the second quarter is benefitting from both a major reduction in semiconductor inventories throughout the electronics supply chain and innovative new designs requiring innovative technology,” said Len Jelinek, director and principal analyst, semiconductor manufacturing, for iSuppli Corp. “However, while this growth will come as a relief to the foundries, it will not result in 2009 being a growth year for the foundry industry. Sustainable semiconductor growth will come only when the global economy recovers and consumers return to more normal patterns of purchases.”
For all of 2009, the pure-play foundry market will underperform the overall semiconductor industry, with foundries suffering a revenue decline of 26.5 percent.
Q1 catastrophe
Global pure-play foundry revenue in the first quarter of 2009 fell by 57.7 percent from $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2008.
The foundry market’s disastrous performance in the first quarter was reflected in the weak results of the Top-10 players, nine of which suffered double-digit percentage declines in revenue, both on a sequential and a year-over-year basis.
The table presents iSuppli’s ranking of the world’s Top-10 pure-play foundries in the first quarter.
iSuppli Table: Worldwide Pure-Play Foundry Ranking for Q1 2009 (Ranking by Revenue in Millions of US Dollars)
Source: iSuppli, June 2009The best performers among the Top-10 were Chartered Semiconductor and the newly-combined Tower Semiconductor Ltd. and Jazz Semiconductor Inc.
No.-3 ranked Chartered managed to outperform the overall foundry market by limiting its year-over-year sales decline to 43.4 percent. Company market share increased to 11.3 percent in the first quarter of 2009, up 2.8 points from 8.5 percent during the same period in 2008.
Tower’s revenue remained flat compared to a year earlier, allowing the company to expand its share by 1.5 points to 2.6 percent, up from 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
“Chartered’s and Tower’s relatively strong performances in the first quarter were due to acquisitions that expanded their revenue, rather than organic growth,” Jelinek said.
Chartered purchased an 8-inch manufacturing facility previously operated by Hitachi Semiconductor, while Tower acquired Jazz.
“Although 2009 will continue to be a challenging year for pure-play foundries, those companies that took aggressive actions to strategically prepare for the future in the second half of 2008 will emerge with increased market share and financial strength,” Jelinek said.
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