In the fierce competition in the semiconductor industry, innovation and cooperation have become the key for enterprises to break through technological bottlenecks and achieve sustainable development. In March 2025, GlobalFoundries, the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entered into a landmark research collaboration agreement to work together to improve the performance and efficiency of key semiconductor technologies, with silicon photonics at the heart of the first projects expected to be a new engine of change across the industry.
1. Cooperation background: the perfect integration of technology and academics
With the rapid development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, the demand for high-performance and low-power semiconductor chips is increasing. As one of the world's leading semiconductor foundries, GF has advanced manufacturing processes and rich industry experience. MIT is the world's top academic research institution, with profound scientific research strength and innovative achievements in the fields of microelectronics and optoelectronics. In the partnership, GF will provide its 22nm FD-SOI process (22FDX) platform and silicon photonics technology, and MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratory (MTL) will co-lead research projects with GF Labs to develop innovative semiconductor solutions for AI and other cutting-edge applications.
2. Silicon photonics technology: the salvation of energy efficiency in data centers
As the core infrastructure of global information storage and processing, the energy consumption of data centers has always attracted much attention. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centers account for about 1% of total electricity consumption worldwide, and this percentage is rising as data traffic explodes. GF's silicon photonics technology enables monolithic optoelectronic integration of optoelectronic components and CMOS circuits by integrating optical components such as optical waveguides, optical modulators, and photodetectors with traditional circuits on a single chip, which not only improves data transmission rates, but also significantly reduces energy consumption. Compared with traditional copper cable connections, silicon photonics technology can provide up to 8 times the data transmission rate, while meeting the demand for higher data rates with 5-10 times higher power efficiency than traditional long-distance electrical interconnects, providing an effective way to solve the problem of high energy consumption in data centers.
Figure: GF and MIT have joined forces to make silicon photonics technology a new engine for the semiconductor industry
3. 22FDX process: the low-power choice for edge smart devices
GF's 22FDX process is an advanced semiconductor technology platform based on 22nm FD-SOI technology, which offers significant advantages in low power consumption, high performance and high integration. FD-SOI technology enables better channel control by adding an insulator (buried oxygen layer) under the transistor, effectively reducing the short-channel effect, improving transistor performance, and flexibly controlling the transistor threshold voltage by adjusting the body bias voltage to optimize power consumption and performance. This process platform is particularly suitable for power-sensitive edge smart devices such as IoT sensors, mobile terminals, autonomous driving systems, etc., which can provide them with longer battery life and more efficient computing power.
4. Talent training: inject fresh blood into the semiconductor industry
The development of the semiconductor industry is inseparable from the support of high-end talents. According to Accenture research, the global semiconductor industry is facing a significant talent gap, especially in high-end manufacturing and R&D. The collaboration between GF and MIT is not only significant in terms of technology development, but also provides a platform to develop the next generation of semiconductor talent. By combining MIT's world-class research capabilities with GF's industry experience, the two companies will work together to explore industry-changing solutions and drive continued innovation in semiconductor technology. In addition, GF plans to build an advanced packaging and photonics center within its Malta, New York manufacturing facility, with an initial investment of $575 million, and an additional $186 million over the next 10 years in the center's R&D efforts, and is expected to create 100 new jobs over five years to train and reserve talent for the U.S. semiconductor industry.
5. Industry impact: Promote the innovation and change of semiconductor technology
GF's partnership with MIT marks an important step forward in the semiconductor industry's efforts to innovate and develop talent. By combining the advantages of both parties, it is not only expected to make a major breakthrough in AI basic chip technology, but also cultivate the next generation of high-end talents for the industry. In the context of the current global semiconductor industry facing technical bottlenecks and talent shortages, this cooperation is undoubtedly of important exemplary significance, providing new impetus and direction for the development of the industry. In the future, with the continuous maturity of silicon photonics technology and the expansion of its application scope, it is expected to promote the development of the entire semiconductor industry in the direction of higher performance, lower power consumption and smaller size, opening a new era of technology.
In conclusion, the combination of GF and MIT is a major event for the semiconductor industry. As the core of the collaboration, silicon photonics technology is expected to become a new engine to drive industry change, providing strong support for solving the energy efficiency problem of data centers and meeting the low-power needs of edge smart devices. At the same time, the cooperation between the two sides in talent training will also inject new vitality into the sustainable development of the industry. We look forward to the fruitful results of this cooperation and bring more innovation and development opportunities to the global semiconductor industry."
