November 13, 2012 – Soitec says it has more than doubled production of bonded silicon-on-sapphire (BSoS) substrates to meet increased demand from partner Peregrine Semiconductor, which has surged its own production capacity for RF switches used in cellular handsets, including the newest iPhone 5.

Soitec’s direct wafer-bonding technologies have helped produce the BSOS substrate used to make Peregrine’s UltraCMOS process technology, used as the antenna switch to automatically switch antenna connections in cell and smartphones. Peregrine has increased its own peak production to more than 2 million units as it supports design wins in advanced 4G smartphones and other wireless communications applications.

“We are experiencing powerful traction in the market with the latest STeP5 UltraCMOS RF switches, and we believe these products enable the high level of RF performance that is critical for new, 4G LTE smartphones and wireless devices,” stated Mark Miscione, VP of RF technology solutions for Peregrine Semiconductor. “Soitec’s expertise has been important in the development of a substrate technology that offers the reliability, yield, and process scalability of equivalent bulk CMOS technologies. We are pleased with the continued commitment and support we receive.”