SYSTEMS

Satnav parts designed and manufactured in the EU, but using GlobalFoundries to produce them

Dutch semiconductor startup Qualinx is claiming a breakthrough of sorts in European sovereign manufacturing thanks to an end-to-end semiconductor fabrication flow it is using for its new satnav chips.

The firm, a spin-off from Delft University of Technology, says it has demonstrated that security-critical chips for aerospace, defense, and critical infrastructure can be designed, manufactured, and delivered entirely within Europe.

Tape-out of the Qualinx QLX3xx, a family of ultra-low-power Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) systems-on-chip (SoCs), represents the first step on the path toward a fully automated trusted European manufacturing flow, the company claims.

But Qualinx is a fabless design shop and relies on a contract manufacturer to make the chips for it. In this case, it is GlobalFoundries (GF), an international business with its headquarters in the US – so much for sovereign manufacturing.

The pair say that GF's Dresden fab is establishing a European manufacturing flow with funding from the European Chips Act. This will ensure that every step of the production process occurs within the EU, so that no sensitive design data leaves the region.

"This first secure product demonstrates that a fully European manufacturing path – from mask services to wafer production – is already a reality today," said Qualinx CEO Tom Trill.

Qualinx is perhaps placing an emphasis on security-critical chips because there are already European semiconductor firms that design and manufacture their own products, such as STMicroelectronics.

And Reg readers with long memories will recall that the UK once had its own processor company in the shape of Bristol-based Inmos, which made the Transputer, manufactured at Newport Wafer Fab (NWF) in South Wales – now sold off to US chip biz Vishay Intertechnology.

The Qualinx chip will be made using GF's FDX fully depleted silicon-on-insulator manufacturing process, which we understand is a 12nm node. While advanced, this is some way behind cutting-edge processes such as Taiwanese chip giant TSMC's 2nm N2 process, now in mass production.

But there has been debate about whether Europe really needs cutting-edge fabs.

The European Commission's new Digital Sovereignty package proposes a Chips Act 2.0 that would fund a sovereign "AI chip factory." But as the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) points out, European chip demand comes mostly from the automotive sector and industrial applications, which rely on 28/22nm technology, not cutting-edge silicon.

"We are demonstrating that Europe can rely on a secure, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow that meets the highest requirements of aerospace and defense," stated GF SVP and general manager Dr Manfred Horstmann. "Our partnership with Qualinx marks the first operational milestone." ®