Samples produced using the next-generation TaRF8 process were released starting in January 2016.

Toshiba Corporation's Semiconductor & Storage Products Division announced the development of the next-generation TarfSOI™ (Toshiba's advanced RF SOI process 'TaRF8'), optimized for wireless RF switch applications with the industry's lowest insertion loss.

Samples of the SP12T RF switch IC (integrated circuit) for smartphones produced with a new process will be released starting in January 2016.

The SP12T, a transmission RF switch IC integrating a MIPI-RFFE controller for mobile applications, is compliant with 3GPP GSM, UMTS, W-CDMA, LTE, and LTE-Advanced standards. The product, utilizing TaRF8—the next-generation process of Toshiba’s proprietary SOI-CMOS TarfSOI front-end optimized for RF switches—achieves the industry's lowest insertion loss of 0.32dB in the 2.7GHz band. This represents a 0.1dB improvement in insertion loss compared to products using Toshiba’s current TaRF6 process, while maintaining the same distortion characteristics.

As mobile communication advances toward high-speed transmission of high-capacity data, RF switch ICs for mobile devices, including smartphones, must support multiple ports and improve RF performance. To achieve this, lowering insertion loss is particularly important because it reduces RF transmission power loss, thereby extending the battery life of mobile devices.

Toshiba is developing high-performance RF switch ICs using its own fab that applies SOI-CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) process technology suitable for integrating analog and digital circuits. By directly handling all production processes, from the development of RF process technology to the design and manufacturing of RF switch chips, Toshiba can rapidly improve SOI-CMOS process technology to match its own developed RF switch IC product technology.

By adopting this Integrated Device Manufacturing (IDM) approach, Toshiba can rapidly establish new process technologies suitable for actual product production, enabling it to launch products manufactured using the latest process technologies.

Toshiba will meet customer and market demands for RF switch ICs by continuously improving TarfSOI process technology and applying advanced technology ahead of other companies.