By Mark LaPedus

The complexity of today’s chips is forcing silicon foundries to expand on both the leading-edge and specialty-process fronts.

For example, GlobalFoundries is expanding in both areas. On the specialty process front, GlobalFoundries confirmed that it recently bought 300mm fab tools from Taiwan’s ProMos Technologies. Many of the tools will be used within GlobalFoundries’ 300mm fab in Singapore, which makes wafers based on various analog and mixed-signal processes. The idea behind this move is to offer “mixed-signal technologies with 300mm economies of scale,” said Michael Noonen, executive vice present of global sales, marketing, quality and design at GlobalFoundries.

On the leading-edge, the silicon foundry vendor recently expanded its technology platform offerings to five, including bulk planar, super-steep retrograde well (SSRW), fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (minimum), fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (maximum) and finFET.

Despite a recent setback with FD-SOI, GlobalFoundries will continue to offer the technology and also gave a ringing endorsement about FD-SOI. In March, Ericsson and STMicroelectronics announced plans to disband ST-Ericsson, a supplier of cell-phone chipsets, including an integrated applications processor based on FD-SOI. Ericsson will take on the design, development and sales of the LTE multimode modem products from ST-Ericsson. STMicroelectronics assumed the ownership of the integrated applications processor based on FD-SOI.

Meanwhile, for some time, GlobalFoundries and STMicroelectronics have had a foundry arrangement under which GlobalFoundries will make FD-SOI products on a foundry basis for STMicroelectronics. GlobalFoundries has not wavered in its support for FD-SOI, saying it will continue to provide the technology on a foundry basis for customers.

FD-SOI provides a viable option for customers, enabling them to differentiate their products, Noonen said. “We want to supply options to customers,” he said. “There is a tremendous amount of interest (for FD-SOI).”

Noonen is also seeing strong interest for its finFET process. GlobalFoundries, Samsung and TSMC have all accelerated their finFET process roadmaps. “We’ve accelerated it,” said Morris Chang, chairman and chief executive of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC), at a recent event. At the event, TSMC reiterated its finFET roadmap, saying it would move into “risk production” by the fourth quarter of 2013.

Like TSMC and Samsung, GlobalFoundries is in mass production for its 28nm processes and is ramping up its 20nm technology. “20nm will be a fast ramp,”  Noonen said. “In general, 28nm is going to be a long-lived node.”

On the specialty process front, meanwhile, GlobalFoundries recently disclosed an initiative called “Vision 2015.”  The initial phase of the plan will include a capacity expansion of its current Fab 7 300mm facility to be on a trajectory of nearly 1 million wafers per year, up from 600,000 wafers a year right now. The expansion is expected to be completed by the middle of 2014.

As part of that effort, GlobalFoundries wants to give analog- and mixed-signal customers a viable 300mm option to compete against the analog leader—Texas Instruments. For some time, TI has been in production within the world’s first 300mm analog fab, dubbed RFAB, based in Texas.

“We want to be the answer to that,” Noonen said.

28nm Super Low Power (28nm-SLP) is the low power CMOS offering delivered on a bulk silicon substrate for mobile consumer and digital consumer applications. This technology has four Vt’s (high, regular, low and super low) for design flexibility with multi-channel length capability and offers the ultimate in small die size and low cost. Multiple SRAM bit cells for high density and high-performance are available. With the simpler process integration of a “Gate-First” HKMG scheme, 28nm-SLPalso offers the use of an eFuse, which is known to be more competitive and superior than a BEOL copper fuse solution.

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Texas Instruments Inc. said the acquisition of National Semiconductor is complete.

The transaction, originally  announced on April 4, 2011, is valued at $6.5 billion. With the deal, TI’s analog semiconductor business now represents more than 50 percent of the company’s revenue.

TI will continue to operate National’s manufacturing sites, located in Maine, Scotland and Malaysia, as well as business headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif.

More than 5,000 National employees will immediately become part of TI.  The two companies will begin the work to integrate National as a unit of TI’s Analog business, which will have a combined portfolio of nearly 45,000 analog products.

TI is the world’s leader in analog share. “With over 14 percent market share, Texas Instruments grew market share in the analog industry by increasing overall analog revenue by 42 percent in 2010,’’ according to Databeans Inc.

“The next largest player was STMicroelectronics with just over 10 percent share and Infineon Technologies was the third largest player with close to 8 percent share,’’ according to the firm.

‘’Both STMicroelectronics and Infineon Technologies participate in the application specific analog market while Texas Instruments garners most if its revenue from the general purpose or multimarket analog product market. Analog Devices was the fourth largest supplier and Maxim Integrated Products was the fifth largest supplier,’’ it added.