Tranlink Secures Major Chip Order from Qorvo

On April 1st, it was reported that TSMC, a leading semiconductor foundry, has received a significant order from Qorvo, a supplier of radio frequency power amplifiers (PAs) to Apple, with an estimated wafer quantity of over tens of thousands. Following its previous success in supplying Apple-related chips for TSMC, this new contract marks another significant win for TSMC in fulfilling crucial chip orders for Apple.

According to reports, Qorvo will supply antenna components for Apple’s next generation of iPhones, integrating new chips and combining them with Qorvo’s power amplifiers for Apple. The new chips will be manufactured using TSMC’s 3DIC technology.

While Qorvo’s power amplifier products are mainly produced by GaAs foundries like Win Semiconductors, they have not collaborated with Taiwanese foundries in other chip aspects before. Supply chain sources revealed that the chips ordered by Qorvo from TSMC are products from Anokiwave, a wireless communications chip manufacturer acquired by Qorvo earlier this year. These chips will be integrated into Apple’s new antenna module design for iPhones, currently ramping up production, which is another significant milestone for TSMC.

With smartphones gradually incorporating on-device AI capabilities, supply chain sources disclosed that Apple is changing the design of the next generation iPhone antenna module for enhanced performance. They are incorporating products from Anokiwave, which was acquired by Qorvo earlier this year, to improve the iPhone’s signal reception capability.

Qorvo highly values the benefits brought by Anokiwave, emphasizing the strong complementarity of Anokiwave’s high-frequency beamforming and intermediate frequency (IF) to radio frequency (RF) conversion chips with Qorvo’s RF front-end product portfolio, providing customers with more highly integrated complete solutions. By combining Anokiwave’s products and outsourcing production to TSMC, Qorvo aims to secure crucial chip orders for iPhones. Previously, TSMC has also produced driver chips for Apple using its chips. Now, by winning this large order in the communication RF sector, TSMC will further strengthen its position in Apple’s supply chain.

Editor: Chip Insight – Wandering Swordsman