- News
20 March 2018
GlobalFoundries launches RF ecosystem program to speed time-to-market for wireless connectivity, radar and 5G applications
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GlobalFoundries of Santa Clara, CA, USA (one of the world’s largest semiconductor foundries, with operations in Singapore, Germany and the USA) has announced the new ecosystem partner program RFWave, designed to simplify RF design and help customers reduce time-to-market for a new era of wireless devices and networks.
The last few years has seen increasing demand for connected devices and systems that will require innovations in radio technologies to support the new modes of operation and higher capabilities, notes the firm. The RFWave Partner Program builds on GlobalFoundries’ 5G vision and roadmap (announced last October), with a focus on its RF solutions such as fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI), RF CMOS (bulk and advanced CMOS nodes), RF SOI and silicon germanium (SiGe) technologies. The program aims to provide a low-risk, cost-effective path for designers seeking to build highly optimized RF solutions for wireless applications such as Internet of Things (IoT) across various wireless connectivity and cellular standards, standalone or transceiver-integrated 5G front-end modules, millimeter-wave (mmWave) backhaul, automotive radar, small-cell and fixed-wireless and satellite broadband.
RFWave enables customers to build RF solutions as well as packaging and test solutions. Initial partners have committed a set of key offerings to the program, including:
- electronic deisgn automation (EDA) tools that complement industry-leading design flows by adding specific modules to easily leverage features of GlobalFoundries’ RF technology platforms;
- a comprehensive library of design elements (IP), including foundation IP, interfaces and complex IP to enable foundry customers to start their designs using pre-validated IP elements; and
- resources (design consultation, services), trained and globally distributed, for partners to gain easy access to support in developing solutions using GlobalFoundries’ RF technologies
“An explosion of digital information is expected to drive an enormous amount of growth in the coming years, and our customers are already preparing for a future of seamless, reliable ultrahigh-data-rate wireless connectivity everywhere,” says Bami Bastani, senior VP of the RF business unit. “GlobalFoundries’ RFWave program takes industry collaboration to a new level, enabling our customers to build differentiated, highly integrated RF-tailored solutions that are designed to accelerate the next wave of technology.”
The RFWave Partner Program creates an open framework to allow selected partners to integrate their products or services into a validated, plug-and-play catalog of design solutions. This level of integration allows customers to create high-performance designs while minimizing development costs through access to a broad set of offerings, specific to RF technology. The partner ecosystem aims to position members and customers to take advantage of ubiquitous connectivity and the broad adoption of GlobalFoundries’ RF technology platforms.
Initial members of the RFWave Partner Program are asicNorth, Cadence, CoreHW, CWS, Keysight Technologies, Spectral Design and WEASIC, which have already initiated work to deliver highly optimized RF solutions.
GlobalFoundries unveils roadmap for next-generation 5G mmWave applications
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