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© 2015 IBM Corporation

RF SOI

Redefining mobility

Systems & Technology

Mark IrelandVice President, Microelectronics

Strategy & Business Development

˄

in the front end

© 2015 IBM Corporation2

…

SiGe offerings for mobile front end

With the goal of transforming our 200 mm fab into a world class Specialty Foundry business

RF SOI offerings for mobile front end

200 mm transformation: 8 years in the making

It started with a new strategy for 200 mm established in 2006

Advanced digital technology offeringsmigrating to 300 mm

300 mmEast Fishkill

manufacturing fab

200 mmBurlington

manufacturing fab


The smartphone is driving more than just RF SOI

Applications processors

Digital baseband processors

Memory

Power control

Cellular transceivers /Analog baseband

Switch

TV tuner

PA

PA

PA

PA

Antenna tuner

Wi-Fi switch /

LNA

PA

Po

wer

man

ag

em

en

t Memory

Wireless SoC transceiver

(GPS, BT, Wi-Fi)

Wi-Fi FEM Becoming a standard on most phones to help offload

data demand on base stations

Key IBM technologies: RF SOI & SiGe

Applications processor

Now the main technology driver for 300 mm foundries: FD SOI opportunity

Cellular front-end module (FEM) Increasing bandwidth driven by new standards

(4G/LTE)

Increasing complexity driving component integration and performance

Key IBM technologies: RF SOI & SiGe

Key driver in transformation of our 200 mm fab into a Specialty Foundry business


Implications of mobile front-end strategy extend well beyond the handset alone

Infrastructure: Mountains of data traffic

crossing the networks fuels network

expansion (IBM Custom Logic / IBM

Systems & Storage)

Cloud: Access to video, photos, audio,

apps, software, storage — anywhere, any

time — leadership in private and public

cloud (IBM Hybrid Cloud)

Big Data / Analytics: Data transformed to

insight opens the door to new / expanded

business opportunities — leadership

through IBM Watson

Mobile is becoming a primary computing platform, and matters to all of IBM

Mobile drives:


Why did we target RF SOI for mobile FEM?

With adoption of 3G and planned 4G/LTE rollouts, saw switch complexity rapidly

increasing …while phone form factors & power budgets were shrinking

Knew our clients would need technology base that offered:

GaAs-comparable performance at a lower cost

Ease of design & digital logic integration capability

Reliable supply, affordability

5

LTE is “the fastest developing mobile system technology ever”*

Sources: *Global Mobile Suppliers Association, Jan 2015; GSMA Intelligence, Feb 2015**IBM Microelectronics Strategic Applications & Market Insights estimates, Feb 2015

To meet demand, it would have taken ~2x the total capacity of today’s GaAs fabs to support the number of cell phones shipped in 2014; ~3x of the total GaAs capacity would be needed in 2018.**

http://www.gsacom.com/news/gsa_418.php

http://www.gsma.com/newsroom/press-release/4g-networks-to-cover-more-third-of-global-pop-this-year/


Bandwidth-greedy applications, like mobile video, add to challenges & complexity

*Source: Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2014–2019, Feb 2015

Regardless of cost point, mobile device performance matters to consumers

Roughly three-fourths of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2019.*

As connection speeds increase, more consumer-driven data is exchanged: more social media, photos, audio & video

Global Mobile Video Traffic, 2014–2019*

0

2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

10,000,000

12,000,000

14,000,000

16,000,000

18,000,000

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

CAGR

2014–2019

66%Tra

ffic

in

te

rab

yte

s p

er

mo

nth

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/white_paper_c11-520862.html


Global adoption and higher performance driving more bands

Frequency bands

2G 3G 4G / LTE

Currently in use Future (potential)

4 5

~45

Could eventuallyapproach ~100

The average global mobile connection speed will more than double by 2019.*

*Source: Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2014–2019, Feb 2015

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/white_paper_c11-520862.html


Looking beyond smartphones and tablets…

Opportunities for RF SOI extend well

beyond the mobile front end

Mobility has been the key technology

force enabling the “Internet of Things”

…and ahead to the next “big” thing: IoT

The BIG question:

What percentage of these devices will use RF SOI?

Are we ready?


IBM RF SOI is already present in the Internet of Things

9

Other connected home applications

Wireless speakersVideo gamingconsoles

HDTVs & set top boxes

Routers & gateways


IoT trends seen at CES highlight opportunities for RF SOI

10

Or direct to cloud…

• One or more sensors

• One or more processors

• One or more RF connections

• One or more sensors

• One or more processors

• One or more RF connections

• More base stations

• More routers

• More data centers

Every IoT device has…Driving more demands on the infrastructure

Connects through a gateway with…


The road from LTE to LTE-MTC...and how RF SOI fits

11

LTE LTE-A

3GPPRelease 8+

3GPPRelease 10+

3GPPRelease 12+

Mobile Broadband

Mobile Broadband + Machine Type

Communications

• Reduces Tx/Rx complexity and cost

• Co-existence with existing infrastructure

• Significantly increases battery life

• Enhances coverage

• Robust network connection reliability

• Security & managed QoS

LTE MTC proposed as part of Release 13 of the 3GPP standard.

LTE-MTC

RF SOI will play a key role in cellular IoT

• Smaller die size & ease of integration, while

offering superior linearity, isolation, insertion

loss properties for performance (signal integrity

/ strength, etc.)

• Extended battery life

• “Future proof” (can handle continued evolution

of LTE)


Silicon integration trends in the RF FEM

Single antenna &

discrete GaAs

switches, power

amplifiers (PAs)

Dual-band

GSM (2G)

~2005… 2015+20142008 2010 2012

3-5 antennas, dual-mode,

multiband RF SOI switches,

discrete GaAs PA

Multi-antenna, diversity

antenna; high-throw count RF

SOI antenna switches (12-14

throw); discrete GaAs PAs

Quad-band GSM Edge

(2.5G); WCDMA (3G)

4G/LTE MIMO

Multi transmit/receive

paths for multiple

channels; n-pole

switches

High frequency, multimode,

many bands (2G, GSM Edge,

3G, HSPA, 4G/LTE)

Carrier

aggregation,

TDD- LTE

LTE

MTC


Front-end challenge RF SOI delivers

Multi-band PAs & series

switches Low insertion loss

Carrier aggregation & new

bandsLow harmonics over wide frequency range

Integration & MIPI*Good performance, while taking up less space

(potential to add more features / function)

Cost pressures Cost effectiveness lower bill of materials

Market dynamics continue to favor RF SOI

There’s no “perfect” technology yet, but….

*MIPI: Mobile Industry Processor Interface


Lightning

strikes again

IBM 7SW SOI packs

more performance into a

smaller space.*

*Compared to IBM 7RF SOI. Actual performance and area

improvements will vary with chip design.

30% smaller chip area*

to add more function without taking up more space

30% better performance*for better connectionswith longer battery life

IBM 7SW SOI —

the next evolution of theindustry’s most successful RF SOI smartphone technology.

Future-readyfor optimized multiband

switching in next-gen smartphones

Taking RF SOI switch technology to the next level


Mobile & IoT marketplaces will continue to need “more than Moore” alone

Design flexibilityGive designers ability to trade off performance,

integration & costs to meet design priorities

Enablement Comprehensive design kits, accurate model-to-hardware correlation &

support

SupplyDynamic, high-volume marketplace demands capacity assurance &

flexibility

IBM RF SOI technologies enable designers to integrate digital control logic and RF components like RF switches, antenna tuners, low noise amplifiers (LNAs) and power amplifiers (PAs) onto fewer chips to add

more function without taking up more circuit board real estate.


IBM and RF SOI, by the numbers

Widespread customer adoption, with top mobile chip-supplier engagements

More than ten billion RF SOI chips shipped to customers to date;

more than 1340 tapeouts

Customer silicon content is increasing in each new generation of smartphone

IBM RF SOI milestones

2008

Announced 7RF SOI

2014

Announced 7SW SOI

7RF low distortion &cost-reduced options

2010 2012

5 million RF SOI chips shipped

~2 billion RF SOI chips shipped

>10 billion RF SOI chips shipped

1343 tapeouts


In summary

RF SOI is here to stay, with a continued strong growth outlook

Innovation and integration options will accelerate

Strong demand will continue to challenge the

supply chain

Impact of IoT could drive significant upside

to demand

17


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IBM Systems and Technology Group

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Produced in the United States of America February 2015

All Rights Reserved.

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