STMicroelectronics, one of Europe's largest integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), advanced fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) technology—co-developed with Samsung Electronics for more than a decade—to 18 nanometers and unveiled a new microcontroller unit (MCU) product, STM32V8.
ST, which has held a dominant position in the global MCU market since the 2000s, said it plans to strengthen its leadership with the new STM32V8—tailored for industrial equipment, wearables, Robotics, and the space industry—by introducing this new process and Arm's latest architecture.
At a press briefing held on the 4th at Novotel Ambassador Gangnam in Seoul, Lee Dong-gu, senior marketing managing director of ST Korea GPM institutional sector, highlighted the high versatility of Arm designs and the advantages of improved memory density and ultra-low power consumption enabled by the refined process. Lee said, "ST has added accelerators that strengthen low-power design and AI processing capabilities to suit industry, Robotics, home appliances, and wearables in response to changes in the MCU market."
An MCU is a processor specialized for device control. While it is the brain, its primary role is not high-performance computation but managing peripherals, power, and overall system status. It handles relatively simple computations, but it is considered essential because it controls countless components in industrial machinery, robots, and automobiles. Recently, as the importance of On-device AI has grown, MCUs are increasingly required to deliver a certain level of compute performance.
ST has collaborated on the 28-nanometer FD-SOI process since 2014, and this time it moved to 18 nanometers, improving the chip's density, power efficiency, and performance across the board. The FD-SOI process places a very thin insulating layer underneath to prevent electrical leakage, enabling ultra-low-power, low-heat chips.
Hyun Dae-seong, marketing department head of ST Korea GPM institutional sector, said, "With the 18-nanometer FD-SOI process enabling high-density designs, we can fit diverse digital IP into a small chip," adding, "Not only has the embedded NAND capacity increased by 2.5 times, but the inherent advantages of the FD-SOI process have already proven high energy efficiency and usability in harsh environments."
ST singled out industrial and Robotics as key target markets for the STM32V8. Director General Hyun said, "Starting with this product, we plan to introduce additional products tailored for areas that require AI inference," emphasizing, "This is the most versatile chip to meet rising MCU demand for robots and other applications that require high performance along with stability and low power."
ST plans to split production of the product between itself and the foundry business unit of Samsung Electronics. While specific allocation has not been decided, Samsung's foundry is expected to receive a meaningful share depending on market demand. Director General Hyun said, "Production stability has been proven over a long period on the 28-nanometer FD-SOI process, and the transition to 18 nanometers proceeded smoothly," adding, "Both companies will strengthen the new process's Production yield and productivity to enhance profitability."