Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Freescale Semiconductor
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 09 October 2001
SiGe:C process technology slims down to
0.18um
Motorola has disclosed its next-generation 0.18-micron silicon germanium:carbon (SiGe:C) process technology.
Motorola has disclosed its next-generation 0.18-micron silicon germanium:carbon (SiGe:C) process technology This fully modular SiGe:C RF BiCMOS technology has transistors switching up to 110GHz providing good RF power gain and low noise for 3G wireless and gigabit optical communication applications
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 20 Mar 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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"The rapidly growing communications market space places challenging and conflicting demands on a mixed-signal technology", said Dr.Vida Ilderem, director of RF/IF silicon technologies in Motorola's DigitalDNA Laboratories.
"Motorola has successfully developed a SiGe:C technology to meet the high performance demands of communication products while offering a very cost-effective solution for portable, consumer applications".
"Our 0.18-micron SiGe:C technology is targeted at the high performance segment of the wireless subscriber and connectivity markets such as 3G, Bluetooth 2 transceivers, and 5GHz wireless LANs.
These types of applications will require a combination of high performance RF and high density logic in order to bring leadership products to the consumer", said Behrooz Abdi, vice president and general manager of Motorola's Radio Products Division.
"Unlike other 0.18-micron SiGe technologies announced recently, Motorola's SiGe:C features high performance embedded RF passives such as high-Q capacitors and copper inductors.
Integrating these components is expected not only to enable single chip radios with RF+DSP+micro, but also to allow a significant reduction in the number of discrete parts that make up the wireless end-product.
Our customers can expect to be able to build devices that are simultaneously optimised for cost, size, and current drain, all without compromising performance", said Abdi.
This technology is supported by digital, analogue and RF libraries including l/f noise and matching characterisation, parasitic extraction and memory compilation to fully enable complex mixed-signal system designs.
Low Vt CMOS, isolated NMOS, analogue bipolar junction transistors and a comprehensive portfolio of high-quality passive devices are integrated for mixed signal and RF CMOS design capability.
In addition, a SiGe:C HBT is integrated for high-frequency, low-power and low-noise RF BiCMOS applications.
Motorola has already introduced several products using its first-generation 0.35-micron SiGe:C process.
Among these products is a low noise RF cascode amplifier that is ideal for use in many RF functional blocks such as buffer amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, mixers, IF amplifiers, and voltage controlled oscillators in a wide variety of RF end-products.
Motorola's 0.18-micron HBT BiCMOS process is expected to achieve certification in the first quarter of 2002, at which time new designs will be accepted.
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