FDSOI pilot line project by 19 EU companies and led by ST is announced

Date: 21/05/2013
Group of 19 leading European companies and academic institutions led by leading chipmaker ST Microelectronics have launched Places2Be, a 3-year, €360M advanced-technology pilot-line project to support the industrialization of Fully-Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (FD-SOI) semiconductor technology, which is touted as alternative to 3D FinFET.

Places2Be (“Pilot Lines for Advanced CMOS Enhanced by SOI in 2x nodes, Built in Europe”) aims to support the deployment of a FD-SOI pilot line at 28nm and the subsequent node, as well as a dual source that will enable volume manufacturing in Europe. Places2Be will drive the creation of a European microelectronics design ecosystem using this FD-SOI platform and explore the path towards the next step for this technology (14/10nm). The first FD-SOI systems-on-chips are expected to be used in consumer electronics, high-performance computing and networking.

The FD-SOI manufacturing sources for the project are located in each of the two largest European microelectronics clusters: the pilot line in STMicroelectronics’ Crolles fab (near Grenoble, France) and the dual source in GlobalFoundries’ fab 1 in Dresden (Germany).

“The Places2Be project will reinforce the ecosystems of both Grenoble and Dresden clusters, while also positively impacting the whole value chain of microelectronics in Europe – large companies, SMEs, start-ups and research organizations – beyond the direct impact induced by the material and IP investments,” declared François Finck, Director of ST’s R&D cooperative programs and project coordinator.