CEA-Leti expands FD-SOI work
The partners are advancing next-generation FD-SOI research through the FAMES Pilot Line, with a focus on energy-efficient semiconductor technologies and future heterogeneous integration.
CEA-Leti and GlobalFoundries have reaffirmed their long-standing collaboration on fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology through the FAMES Pilot Line, a European initiative designed to accelerate semiconductor research and innovation.
Funded by the European Commission and participating member states under the Chips Joint Undertaking, the FAMES Pilot Line supports early-stage development of advanced semiconductor technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency, sustainability and technological resilience.
The collaboration builds on more than two decades of joint work on SOI technologies and continues to advance FD-SOI as a platform for applications requiring a balance of performance, power efficiency and cost.
One outcome of this partnership is GlobalFoundries’ FDX platform, which is used in applications ranging from automotive and consumer electronics to edge AI and satellite communications.
Within the FAMES framework, the partners are exploring new device architectures and substrate innovations, including strained silicon concepts developed in collaboration with other industry stakeholders.
Research activities also extend to RF technologies for 5G and 6G, embedded non-volatile memory, compute-in-memory approaches for edge AI, biomedical devices and cybersecure electronics.
The organizations also identified the pilot line as a pathway toward future 3D heterogeneous integration, supporting the development of more advanced semiconductor systems based on FD-SOI technology.
The announcement highlights Europe's continued investment in semiconductor research infrastructure as it seeks to strengthen regional capabilities in energy-efficient and strategically important chip technologies.
