Samsung Electronics and STMicroelectronics, one of Europe's largest semiconductor corporations, have been expanding their FD-SOI (fully depleted silicon on insulator) technology cooperation, which began in 2014, into the automotive and space industries. With STMicro recently launching a next-generation microcontroller unit (MCU) supplied to Elon Musk's space exploration company "SpaceX," Samsung Electronics, which co-developed the technology, has also solidified its position in the ultra-high-performance, low-power MCU field.
According to the industry on the 1st, Samsung Electronics, through a technology alliance with STMicro, integrated FD-SOI technology with embedded memory (on-chip memory) and packaging technology to secure foundry capabilities for chips used in automobiles, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the space industry. As a customer-tailored technology, it is expected to become a pillar of the mid- to long-term revenue structure of Samsung Electronics' foundry business unit.
Put simply, the FD-SOI process is a semiconductor process built on a very thin insulating base that prevents electricity from leaking. In conventional semiconductors, transistors are placed on a silicon base, which can cause leakage under the silicon. FD-SOI lays down an insulating layer like an extremely thin glass sheet, and places the silicon and transistors on top of it. This enables ultra-low power, low-heat chips and allows for a performance booster function called body biasing. It has the advantage of easy "tuning" to suit the application, such as slightly adjusting the voltage to raise performance.
ST's space-industry chip "STM32V8," supplied to SpaceX, is also produced using the FD-SOI process co-developed by Samsung Electronics and ST. The chip meets the high reliability and high-speed data processing required in low Earth orbit (LEO) environments, and has been applied to SpaceX's Starlink laser system. Based on this supply, not only ST but also Samsung's foundry is seen to have laid the groundwork to expand its customer base from automobiles and IoT into the space and aerospace sectors.
The global foundry market is currently polarized. In the cutting-edge market, including the 2-nanometer process, ultra-miniaturization transitions such as from FinFET to Gate-All-Around (GAA) are underway. Meanwhile, in mature processes that require high reliability, ultra-low-power technologies such as FD-SOI and packaging technologies based on them are in focus. Samsung Electronics competes with TSMC in the 2-nanometer field and is also expanding its market in mature processes based on cooperation with ST.
A foundry industry official said, "FD-SOI is a stable market that can generate steady revenue because it allows the design and production of customized chips at low expense in mature-process semiconductors," and added, "Samsung Electronics and ST, based on long-standing cooperation, are solidifying their customer base by improving into ultra-low-power, memory-integrated system-on-chips (SoCs) specialized for automobiles, IoT, and the space industry while remaining cost-efficient."
Since last year, Samsung Electronics advanced its FD-SOI process, previously run at 28 nanometers, to 18 nanometers and stabilized the technology to integrate MRAM as embedded memory. The process offers improved power efficiency, memory density, digital density, RF performance, and analog/digital peripheral integration capabilities. Samples were provided to ST last year, and full-scale mass production began in the second half of this year.
The cooperation between Samsung Electronics and ST aims for a steady cash cow in the legacy (mature process) market rather than in cutting-edge processes. A Samsung Electronics official said, "We are targeting the automotive, IoT, and industrial markets, which require high reliability, low power, and integration, by providing automotive power semiconductor processes (BCD processes) and SoC solutions including embedded MRAM."