GlobalFoundries announced the production readiness of its SLATE wafer-to-wafer bonding technology on the 9SW radio-frequency silicon-on-insulator (RF-SOI) platform for advanced 3D integration in radio frequency applications.
The technology is manufactured at GF’s 300mm facility in Singapore and is expected to ramp to volume production in the second half of 2027. It supports more compact front-end modules (FEMs) for next-generation 5G devices.
SLATE enables wafer-to-wafer (W2W) bonding of two 9SW wafers, allowing vertical integration of large-size field-effect transistors (FETs). This approach can reduce overall die size by up to 45%, decreasing RF board space for switches, low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), and antenna tuners in smart mobile devices.
The 9SW RF-SOI platform, introduced in 2023, is GF’s fourth generation of XSW technology. It targets sub-8GHz and FR3 frequency ranges for 5G mobile devices and satellite communications. It provides more than 20% enhancement in efficiency through lower on-resistance and off-capacitance (Ron*Coff) and reduced standby currents for longer battery life.
“Deploying SLATE on 9SW represents a significant step forward in RF integration, enabling our customers to design more compact and power-efficient solutions for next-generation 5G devices without compromising RF performance,” said Shankaran Janardhanan, senior vice president of GF’s RF business.
“GF’s SLATE technology applied to its 9SW platform represents an important advancement in RF front-end integration, enabling designers to overcome traditional scaling and integration challenges,” said Vinod Kariat, corporate vice president of Custom IC and PCB group at Cadence.
SLATE offers a roadmap for heterogeneous 3DI across GF’s technologies, including FDX FD-SOI, RF-SOI, and silicon germanium (SiGe), for applications in data centers, satellite connectivity, IoT, and mobile devices.
An integrated process design kit (PDK) is available through the GF Connect portal. 9SW and 9SW SLATE are available for prototyping through GF’s GlobalShuttle multi-project wafer program, with shuttles scheduled for the second half of 2026.
