The Shanghai Institute of Microsystems (SIM), a part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has achieved a significant milestone in the field of 300mm Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer manufacturing technology. Under the leadership of Wei Xing, their research team successfully produced China's first 300mm radio frequency (RF) SOI wafer. This accomplishment was announced through the institute's social media WeChat public account.
By utilizing the 300mm SOI R&D platform at the National Key Laboratory of Integrated Circuit Materials, SIM's team addressed various critical technical challenges related to the production of the RF-SOI wafers. These included issues like low oxygen and high resistance crystal preparation, low stress, high resistance polysilicon film deposition, and the requirement for non-contact flattening in the manufacturing process.
The independent production of 300mm RF-SOI wafers is expected to greatly advance the coordinated and rapid development of China's RF-SOI chip design, foundry, and packaging industry chain. Furthermore, it will ensure a reliable and secure supply of Chinese SOI wafers. The institute stated that SOI technology, which leverages silicon materials and integrated circuits, offers unique advantages and can overcome their limitations. It has a wide range of applications, including RF-SOI applications for communication radio frequency front-ends, high-power SOI components, and optical communication SOI technology.
