Tower and Renesas collaborate on SiGe beamforming ICs
Companies to target a fast growing satcom terrestrial market
Tower Semiconductor has announced a collaboration with Renesas around Tower’s SiGe BiCMOS technology to manufacture SiGe-based beamforming ICs for the satcom terrestrial terminal market.
According to Euroconsult, a market research firm, 71 million people were connected to satellite broadband services in 2022. With rapid deployment of LEO satellite constellations, this number is expected to double in 2031, reaching over 150 million users. This translates to an increase of $400M in the average yearly TAM for SiGe wafers over the coming decade.
Naveen Yanduru, VP of RF Communications at Renesas said: “As evidenced by our design wins and volume shipments, the displacement of mechanical antennas by highly agile electronically steered antennas (ESAs) is well underway and will continue to drive exponential SAM growth for beamforming ICs in the coming years. With the continuously surging demand for mmwave technology, our collaboration with Tower Semiconductor has positioned Renesas as a market leader,” Yanduru added.
Marco Racanelli, president at Tower Semiconductor said:“Our global capacity and engineering agility will ensure Renesas has both the ability to develop new, high-performance products and deliver these in high-volume to their Tier 1 customers.”
Renesas’ portfolio of beamforming products has achieved a number of design including a tier 1 base station manufacturer, a tier 1 satellite broadband service provider, a major defence contractor, and an antenna supplier for a major aircraft manufacturer, among others.
“We are excited to share that production for these design wins has commenced, and we are now shipping in volumes,” added Tumay Kanar, director at Renesas. “Volume production is being supported by Tower with its high yield and high reliability.”
