Solidify the European FDSOI Ecosystem Accelerating its Industrial Deployment

Project Information

SOIL

Grant agreement ID: 101139785

DOI

10.3030/101139785

EC signature date 16 July 2024

Start date 1 June 2024

End date 31 May 2027

Funded under

• Digital, Industry and Space

Total cost

€ 94 426 610,14

EU contribution

€ 23 842 325,21

Coordinated by

STMICROELECTRONICS CROLLES 2 SAS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SOIL (Solidify the European FDSOI Ecosystem Accelerating its Industrial Deployment)

Reporting period: 2024-06-01 to 2025-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The European-originated Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FDSOI) family of semiconductor technologies is recognized for its low power consumption, versatility, exceptional radio frequency capabilities, high radiation hardness and overall reliability and process simplicity. FD-SOI is a simpler process, compatible with bulk CMOS. This technology can be applied on numerous markets, including: Audio processing (edge AI), Video processing (Edge AI), Advanced Driver Assistance System and radars, Microcontrollers and Field-Programmable Gate Array, 5G infrastructure and handsets, and wearables.
The SOIL project is rooted in more than 10 years of successive European funded projects aiming to develop a full FDSOI ecosystem, from technology and design platform providers, all the way to system and application. This new initiative, running for 36 months with a total budget of 95.7 M€, is funded by the CHIPS JU and participating states. It comprises 34 partners from 9 countries.
The SOIL initiative aims to achieve its strategic vision through a comprehensive framework of objectives. These include 4 primary goals complemented by 18 critical objectives tied to the various work packages.
The 4 main objectives of the SOIL project are:
• European strategic sovereignty for semiconductor technology based on a resilient European value chain for FDSOI technology
• Achieve world-leading energy efficiency for sustainable semiconductor applications and production
• Establish semiconductor, IP, and components for securing and leveraging European semiconductor leadership
• R&D capacity building in key semiconductor technologies.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Overall, the SOIL project has been making good progress, in agreement with the planned description of action. The project management (WP7) is set-up via tools and methodologies which are in place (weekly coordination team meeting, regular Executive Board meetings). The first period has been mostly devoted to WP1 activities, defining the specifications and requirements of the IP, components, and demonstrators. Though several deliverables were delayed, it was possible to recover the situation in most cases and deliver them during the first period, else they are under review and should be submitted within the first month of RP2. Beyond requirement definitions, progress was also made on the IP development (WP3) and on component design (WP4). The IP work package (WP3) is a very complex one and has been progressing well thanks to efficient communication and management. There are already good progresses made and even first silicon results, though Q3 2025 and Q1 2026 are going to be critical to finalize the first design and results. As far as components (WP4) are concerned, all RP1 deliverables have been submitted. Also, the demonstrators’ activities (WP5) have been mainly related to WP1 activities, such as requirement and specification definitions. Finally, regarding exploitation and dissemination (WP6), even though the project is still in an early phase there has already been some dissemination activities (conferences, workshop, and scientific papers).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project focused on definition and requirements in its first year means there are no results exceeding the current state of the art.