indie Semiconductor taps GF for 120GHz radar chips
indie Semiconductor has signed a strategic deal with GlobalFoundries to make 77GHz and 120GHz radar system-on-chip (SoC) devices on the 22FDX platform.
The SoCs will target 77 GHz and 120 GHz radar applications for both advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and in-cabin sensing as well as industrial applications.
The indie 77 GHz SoCs are used in systems for both longer-range detection to monitor surroundings and detect obstacles, enabling use cases including forward collision warning (FCW), automatic emergency braking (AEB), and shorter-range applications such as blind spot detection (BSD), cross-traffic alert and automated parking. The 77 GHz radar is at the advanced design-in stage with a Tier 1 customer, supporting multiple automotive OEMs.
The 120 GHz radar transceivers launched in 2023 will target in-cabin applications requiring higher resolution and precision over shorter ranges, such as occupant monitoring and detection of vital signs such as heartbeat and respiration.
The SoC supports antenna-in-package designs, enabling smaller systems to be developed without compromising performance, cost or in-cabin aesthetics and first customer samples of the 120 GHz solution are already available.
This follows the acquisition of German startup Silicon Radar in 2023.
Automotive radar adoption is being accelerated by global vehicle safety regulation, new car assessment programs, and consumer demand for convenience features. As a result, new vehicles will feature at least four radar sensors inside the car and for exterior sensing, and this is expected to double in next-generation platforms.
The design and functional integration of analog, digital, RF, power management and memory functions in the chips is enabled by the automotive-qualified 22nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process technology.
“indie has been working closely with GlobalFoundries for several years, and this strategic collaboration for our high-performance radar portfolio builds on the success of an established relationship,” said Michael Wittmann chief operating officer at indie.
“Our goal is to keep our customers at the forefront of technology in the increasingly competitive automotive sector, and the combination of indie’s design innovation and the foundry’s manufacturing leadership will enable safety-critical radar-based ADAS technologies to be deployed cost-effectively across automotive and industrial mobility applications.”
“Our strategic collaboration with indie is bringing exciting and innovative product solutions to the automotive and industrial mobility markets,” said Ed Kaste, senior vice president of GF’s ultra-low power product line. “As GF continues to invest in capacity and technology differentiation in our 22FDX platform and build on this partnership for indie’s next-generation solutions, customers will mutually benefit from GF’s purpose-built, automotive-grade technologies and indie’s best in class radar design innovation, ultimately delivering the highest-integrated silicon solutions that drive down the total system cost and power consumption for faster and ubiquitous market deployment.”
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