In quest of enhanced semiconductor performance from fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) devices, Acorn Technologies has announced a research collaboration with Dr. Jean-Pierre Raskin, PhD, a full professor at the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. Acorn is funding work by Prof. Raskin to learn more about the commercial potential of their proprietary Acorn Buried Stressor (ABS) technology. Acorn is hoping Dr. Raskin’s discoveries will be applicable to RF/microwave semiconductor manufacturing to yield the smaller device geometries needed for operation above 100 GHz.
Acorn’s FD-SOI technology is based on a planar process that supports the miniaturization of semiconductor geometries for higher-frequency operation at reduced power levels. The technology is being applied to the development of FD-SOI transistors capable of operating at frequencies of hundreds of gigahertz in support of emerging Fifth Generation (5G) and Sixth Generation (6G) wireless communications networks. ABS techniques are also useful for the company’s patented germanium laser technology, to create higher-efficiency monolithic lasers and photonic devices.
Regarding the collaboration, Raskin, known for his expertise in RF and FD-SOI technologies, offered: “Acorn’s ABS technology holds great promise for the semiconductor industry as a novel technique for enhancing the performance of FD-SOI devices. I look forward to working closely with Acorn’s engineering team as we evaluate and quantify the capabilities of ABS for potential commercial use in a wide range of RF applications.” Tom Horgan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Acorn, added: “We are honored to collaborate with Professor Raskin as we explore the benefits of applying ABS to accelerate the performance of RF devices manufactured with FD-SOI technology. We believe Professor Raskin and his distinguished UCLouvain research team will add tremendous value to Acorn’s efforts to commercialize process manufacturing innovations for the benefit of the entire semiconductor industry.”