SOI Goes Main Stream

Implications: - ARM's move to SOI will expedite the adaptations of SOI as the main stream technology to manufacture IC's, and obsolescence of CMOS

- The effect will be most pronounced in cell phone chipset markets where ARM is ubiquitous, and lower power consumption and high speeds enabled by SOI, have premium value.

- In the short term, cellular handset manufactures such as Freescale, who already have SOI technology and their customers, such as Motorola, can take advantage of the lower power consumption and higher speeds provided by SOI. There will be pressure on others to adopt SOI 

Analysis: Silicon on Insulator (SOI) is an alternative manufacturing technology to CMSO, which allows increased speed and reduced power consumption.  The technology has been around for over a decade.  However, due to the costs associated, it has been mostly used for high end processors.  IBM PowerPC uses the technology extensively for gaming devices, so does Freescale.  Wider adoption of technology will reduce costs associated.  

ARM's move to SOI is significant as ARM is the most widely used RISC processor in the market, especially in cellular handset markets.  The move allows Freescale, the main supplier to Motorola, to capture competitive advantage to reduce power consumption while increasing chip speed.  To keep pace, other handset manufacturers such as Nokia will increase pressure on their supplier to move to SOI, or move to use chips from IC supplier with SOI technology.

For CMOS technology, this may be the beginning of the end.