As the chip shortage continues to bite, contract semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries (GF) has added facilities to help the IoT, smart mobile devices and automotive industries.

The New York-based company is making $1bn investment in its Dresden fab in Germany, as well as an additional $5bn to expand capacity globally.

It has made the announcements as the industry is experiencing unprecedented demand for semiconductor chips, with the market expected to double to more than $1tn by the end of the decade. Semiconductor chips are now pervasive, being inside everything from appliances to thermostats, smartphones to automobiles, and industrial equipment to medical devices.

“This past eighteen months have demonstrated what a semiconductor is and that they are vital to everything we do,” said Juan Cordovez, senior vice president at GF. “This awareness and demand have catalysed innovation in areas such as automotive and IoT, and this requires a new way of thinking. At GF, we are shattering the old paradigm of what innovation in semiconductor manufacturing means by delivering differentiated solutions that are more intelligent and intuitive, more connected and secure, more powerful and energy efficient to meet not only the demands of today but also for the future.” 

At its GF Technology Summit, the company introduced the added features and platforms for the fast-growing end markets and applications. Its micro-display offerings for IoT include features that optimise and improve process speed and reduce leakage as well as provide enhanced pixel driver functionality for enabling smaller and lighter augmented reality (AR) glasses that last longer on a single battery charge.

These products are based on the GF 22FDX+ platform, which is seeing broad industry acceptance with more than $7.5bn in design wins worldwide.

GF also announced feature sets for the latest generation of 5G and Wifi 6 and 6e mobile phones and smart devices. The RF-SoI sub 6GHz offerings include features so chip designers can provide a stronger 5G connection with fewer dead zones for more talking, playing and streaming, and more time on a single charge.

FDX-RF features enable the 5G mm-wave generation of devices for more robust connections and more connected experiences. Wifi offerings include features for enhanced RF and power amplifier functionality so Wifi 6 and 6e chip designers can provide a higher performing, stronger connection for the latest wifi-enabled products for more coverage and more connections.

There are features that allow display driver IC designers to enable variable refresh on OLED displays to deliver fast refresh rates for more immersive gaming and moderated refresh rates for battery savings while browsing.

Audio offerings include a non-volatile memory option that allows audio amp designers to provide more life-like sound quality with little or distortion resulting in crystal clear audio for playback and talk.

There are features that allow image sensor designers to enable stacked CMOS image sensors with more than 200Mpixels of resolution, high-dynamic range, slow-motion and lower power for the latest smartphone cameras.

GF is extending its silicon photonics manufacturing position by announcing a platform and features for more power and energy efficiency. These are available on GF’s silicon photonics 45nm platform, which has passed critical technology milestones and is on track for full technology qualification by Q1 2022. The monolithic platform, combining RF CMOS and optical components on the same chip, includes a micro ring resonator (MRR) optical component in 300mm wafer technology.

For automotive, GF announced that the 22FDX platform is Auto Grade One ready at Fab One in Dresden, Germany, providing faster time-to-market.

GF has an at-scale manufacturing footprint spanning the USA, Europe and Asia, and is owned by Mubadala Investment.