FDSOI carries on despite ST re-org, says COO

STMicroelectronics' withdrawal from the set-top-box business and the transfer of engineers to microcontroller and digital automotive work will not stop the adoption of fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) manufacturing process, according to Jean-Marc Chery, ST's chief operating officer.

EE Times, Jan. 27, 2016 – Set-top box and home gateway are application areas where STMicroelectronics has already designed ICs for implementation in the FDSOI process that it has championed in the industry, albeit with limited take-up so far.

However, the news that ST is withdrawing from those markets (see ST exits STB chip business, plans lay-offs) and will make no further designs for that sector should not be seen as a blow to prospects for FDSOI, Chery told EE Times Europe. Indeed Chery says ST is preparing to make microcontrollers on 28nm FDSOI with options on an embedded non-volatile memory still open, but with phase-change memory as a leading contender.

Of the re-organization that eliminated the digital products group that Chery had led, he said: "This absolutely does not impact FDSOI. What is important is that, from the first figure of merit, FDSOI can provide processor cores, usually Arm processor cores, at very low operating voltage. The second figure of merit is in RF for communications. Together this makes FDSOI perfect for the Internet of Things." He added that its radiation immunity also makes it well suited for automotive applications as well as for space and defence ICs. "It has already been announced that the EyeQ4 processor from Mobileye NV will be in FDSOI and NXP/Freescale is using FDSOI for ADAS (autonomous driver assistance systems)," he said.

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