At its annual GF Technology Summit in North America, GlobalFoundries announced process design kit (PDK) availability for its UX platform family, two new CMOS technologies purpose-built for next-generation intelligent edge devices and advanced sensing systems. First introduced at last year's Technology Summit, the UX family includes two process nodes, 40nm (40UX) and 22nm (22UX), giving customers a scalable roadmap for building ultra-low-power microcontrollers, wireless connectivity devices, sensor interfaces, imaging systems, and edge AI applications. Built on established manufacturing modules and supported by GlobalFoundries' design ecosystem and global manufacturing network, the UX technologies are meant to help customers speed up development of AI-enabled devices and intelligent systems while balancing performance, power consumption, cost, and supply requirements.
As computing intelligence moves out of the cloud and into billions of connected devices, chip designers need technology that combines precise sensing, always-on connectivity, and energy-efficient processing, all within tight power and size constraints. The UX family expands GlobalFoundries' lineup of technology aimed at what it calls Physical AI, giving customers a scalable path for connected microcontrollers and highly integrated sensing and mixed-signal systems. The 40UX platform brings proven, cost-efficient integration to microcontrollers and always-on edge devices, while 22UX offers a higher level of analog, sensing, and mixed-signal performance for more complex intelligent systems.
The 40UX platform is optimized for secure, smart, connected microcontrollers and systems-on-a-chip serving wearables, IoT, and wireless connectivity applications. Built on GlobalFoundries' high-volume 40nm platform, which uses high-endurance embedded flash memory (eFlash) and has already shipped more than one million wafers, 40UX combines ultra-low-leakage transistors and SRAM memory, low-noise analog capabilities, integrated embedded flash with built-in self-test functionality, and advanced RF support, aimed at enabling long battery life, high reliability, and compact device sizes. The platform is particularly well suited for Bluetooth Low Energy devices, other wireless connectivity products, low-noise sensor interfaces, and other power-sensitive edge applications.
The 40UX platform is set to reach volume production at GlobalFoundries' Singapore facility by 2027, with future production also planned at its site in Malta, New York. Its technology roadmap includes further optimizations to embedded processing, including support for higher voltages and reduced noise, Automotive Grade 1 qualification, and enhanced options for embedded non-volatile memory.
For applications requiring higher levels of analog integration and sensing performance, the 22UX platform offers an analog-optimized 22nm technology aimed at edge AI, imaging, and mixed-signal systems. It combines ultra-low-power operation with low-noise analog components, improved matching between individual transistors, wafer-scale characterization of Random Telegraph Signal noise (a type of electrical noise that can affect sensor accuracy), wafers ready for advanced 3D bonding, and a roadmap that includes ultra-low leakage, analog compute-in-memory, and embedded memory capabilities. The platform is well suited for stacked CMOS image sensor readout chips, offering low 1/f flicker noise and a low-noise 3.3V analog transistor for precise measurement. Its improved device matching and higher voltage headroom also make it a strong option for cost-optimized mixed-signal systems-on-chip, sensor interfaces, and power-sensitive edge devices that need strong analog performance.
The 22UX platform includes analog-optimized features such as ultra-low-power capabilities for strong energy efficiency, along with third-generation fill cells that speed up integrating different circuit blocks and modules into a finished product design. The platform is designed to be broadly compatible with the industry, allowing relatively easy porting from other bulk CMOS platforms, and was developed using proven manufacturing modules along with technology drawn from GlobalFoundries' established 28nm process, which has also shipped more than one million wafers. 22UX will be manufactured at GlobalFoundries' advanced facility in Dresden, Germany, with a roadmap toward production across multiple sites in the company's broader global manufacturing network.
Ed Kaste, senior vice president of GlobalFoundries' CMOS business, said intelligence is increasingly built into the devices people and businesses rely on every day, creating new demands around power efficiency, precise sensing, connectivity, and cost-effective integration. He said the new UX platform family gives customers a scalable path to develop differentiated products for the intelligent edge, backed by proven technology and GlobalFoundries' global manufacturing capabilities, and that by expanding its feature-rich CMOS portfolio with 40UX and 22UX, the company is helping customers bring the next generation of connected and Physical AI systems to market.
