GF gets $9.5m funding for GaN chip production
GlobalFoundries (GF) has received an additional $9.5 million in federal funding from the US government to advance the manufacturing of GF’s essential GaN on silicon semiconductors at its facility in Essex Junction, Vermont. T
he funding moves GF closer to large-scale production of GaN chips. With the ability to handle high voltages and temperatures, GaN chip technology is essential for enabling higher performance and greater energy efficiency across a range of RF and high-power control applications including automobiles, data centre, IoT, aerospace and defence.
With the award, GF will continue to add new tools, equipment and prototyping capabilities to its market-leading GaN IP portfolio and reliability testing as the company moves closer to full-scale manufacturing of its 200mm GaN chips in Vermont.
“GF is proud of its leadership in GaN chip technology, which is positioned to make game-changing advances across multiple end-markets and enable new generations of devices with more energy-efficient RF performance and faster-charging, longer-lasting batteries,” said Nicholas Sergeant, VP of IoT and aerospace and defence at GF. “We appreciate the US government’s partnership and ongoing support of our GaN program. Realising full-scale GaN chip manufacturing will be a catalyst for innovation, for both our commercial and government partners, and will add resilience and strengthen the semiconductor supply chain.”
The new funding, awarded by the US Department of defence’s Trusted Access Program Office (TAPO), represents the latest federal investment to support GF’s GaN program in Vermont.
“This strategic investment in critical technologies strengthens our domestic ecosystem and national security, and ensures these assets are readily available and secure for DoD utilisation. In concert with key partners, this approach fortifies defence systems, empowering resilience and responsiveness,” said Nicholas Martin, director at defence Microelectronics Activity.
In total, including the new award, GF has received more than $80 million since 2020 from the US government to support research, development and advancements to pave the way to full-scale GaN chip manufacturing.
Vermont is a US-accredited Trusted Foundry and the global hub of GF’s GaN program, with leadership in 200mm semiconductor manufacturing. In July 2024, GF acquired Tagore Technology’s GaN Power portfolio and created the GF Kolkata Power centre in Kolkata, India. The centre is closely aligned with and supports GF’s facility in Vermont, and is helping advance GF’s research, development and leadership in GaN chip manufacturing.
