GlobalFoundries (GF) today announced that it has received an additional $9.5 million in federal funding from the U.S. government. The funding is intended to advance the production of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors on silicon at the Junction facility in Essex, Vermont. The funding will help bring GF closer to its goal of mass production of GaN chips. GaN technology is designed to operate in high-voltage and high-temperature environments, and is widely used in radio frequency (RF) and high-power control systems, including automotive, data center, IoT, aerospace and defense, to significantly improve performance and energy efficiency in these industries.
The funding will further support GF's investments in GaN technology, particularly in its leading GaN intellectual property (IP) portfolio and reliability testing. GF plans to continue to enhance its tooling, equipment, and prototyping capabilities to drive full production of 200mm GaN chips in Vermont. The company is committed to providing customers with a fast and efficient path to develop innovative designs and improve power management efficiency by leveraging the unique advantages of GaN chip technology, according to the GF principal.
"We are proud of GF's leadership in GaN chip technology, which is expected to bring disruptive advancements across multiple industries, improving the RF performance of next-generation devices while enabling faster charging and longer battery life," said Nicholas Sergeant, vice president of GF's IoT and Aerospace & Defense businesses.”
The grant, provided by the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of the Trusted Access Program (TAPO), is the latest move by the U.S. government to continue its support for GlobalFoundries' GaN project in Vermont.
Figure: GlobalFoundries GaN chip manufacturing received $9.5 million in funding from the U.S. (Source: VTDigger)
"This strategic investment in critical technologies not only strengthens our domestic technology ecosystem, but also strengthens national security to ensure that these technologies are safely and efficiently available to the Department of Defense when needed," said Dr. Nicholas Martin, Director of the U.S. Department of Defense's Division of Microelectronics Activities. By working with key partners, we are able to increase the resilience and resilience of our defense systems.”
Since 2020, GF has received more than $80 million in funding from the U.S. government to support research and development in GaN technology and enable GaN chip manufacturing to be fully realized. With the continuous advancement of GaN technology, Vermont is not only a recognized "trusted factory" in the United States, but also a global R&D center for GF's GaN project, and has long been a leader in 200mm semiconductor manufacturing.
In addition, in July 2024, GF acquired Tagore Technology's GaN power portfolio and established the GF Kolkata Power Center in Kolkata, India. The center works closely with the Vermont facility to further advance GF's R&D efforts in GaN chip manufacturing and solidify its position as a global leader in GaN technology.
With this funding, GlobalFoundries will not only accelerate the commercialization of GaN technology, but also strengthen its partnerships with government and commercial partners to advance this strategically important technology advancement and provide stronger technical support for future smart devices and high-power applications.
