The 22FDX—GlobalFoundries’ Answer to Fast, Cheap, and Efficient

GlobalFoundries launches industry's first 22nm FD-SOIL technology platform at a 20 percent smaller die size and 10 percent fewer masks than 28nm, as well as nearly 50 percent fewer immersion lithography layers than foundry FinFET.

As technology gets increasingly mobile, it's vital that semiconductors keep up with the demand for faster, smarter, more energy-efficient devices. However, customers aren't willing to invest more money in smaller devices, especially if those devices won't stay charged, which is why GlobalFoundries' new platform is an important step towards widespread adoption of low-cost, low-power ecosystems.
The 22FDX delivers FinFET-like performance and energy-efficiency at a cost comparable to 28nm planar technologies, and it seems a logical solution for IoT, RF, and networking markets.

“In an industry first, 22FDX provides real-time system software control of transistor characteristics: the system designer can dynamically balance power, performance, and leakage. Additionally, for RF and analog integration, the platform delivers best scaling combined with highest energy efficiency.”-- Sanjay Jha, CEO GlobalFoundries.

The 22FCX platform contains a family of products targeting various needs. The 22FD-ulp, for instance, is a low-power alternative to FinFET that is ideal for the smartphone market, while the 22FD-uhp is performance-optimized and best suited for networking applications with analog integration. For high-volume RF applications, the 22FD-rfa offers 50% lower power at less system cost.

In the always-on world of IoT, it's more important than ever that platforms extend power-performance optimization while scaling down costs.