In close collaboration MediaTek and TSMC have demonstrated the first silicon-proven power management unit (PMU) and integrated power amplifier (iPA) on TSMC’s N6RF+ process. By bringing these external Power management and power amplifier functions inside the chip saves space and cost. TSMC says its advanced N6RF+ technology can reduce the size of the wireless connectivity product module by a double-digit percentage. The results also show significant improvement in power efficiency for the power management unit compared with existing solutions, whereas the performance of power amplifier was competitive enough with existing solutions.
6nm node based TSMC's N6RF+ process is a RF CMOS tech supporting integration of functions such as power management units and power amplifiers (iPAs) into a system-on-chip (SoC) for wireless connectivity products, resulting in a smaller form factor and competitive performance. Keysight, Synopsys, and Ansys are offering new integrated radio frequency (RF) design migration flow from TSMC's N16 process to its N6RF+ technology.
“After a year of working together on N6RF+, the test chip has exhibited excellent power efficiency gains," said Ching San Wu, Corporate Vice President at MediaTek. "By combining MediaTek's leadership in wireless technology and TSMC's expertise on DTCO, N6RF+ will become a competitive technology for RFSoC projects, creating a significant advantage in the industry."
“Successful DTCO between foundry and customer requires strong mutual trust and teamwork, and we are delighted in this joint accomplishment with a wireless connectivity leader like MediaTek,” said Lipen Yuan, senior director of Advanced Technology Business Development at TSMC. “This achievement on TSMC’s N6RF+ process shows how TSMC combines its leadership in advanced logic and broad portfolio of specialty technologies to provide differentiated solutions for customers’ products.”
