RF antenna chips emerge as a volume driver in the Starlink supply chain

December 17, 2025 /SemiMedia/ — STMicroelectronics has delivered more than 5 billion radio-frequency antenna chips to Elon Musk’s SpaceX for use in the Starlink satellite broadband network, underscoring the scale of semiconductor demand tied to low-Earth orbit communications.

The chips are primarily deployed in Starlink user terminals, supporting antenna arrays and RF front-end functions that enable high-speed data transmission. ST executives said shipment volumes linked to Starlink could continue to rise over the next two years as terminal installations expand globally.

Remi El-Ouazzane, president of STMicroelectronics’ Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group, said antenna solutions based on BiCMOS technology have become a practical architecture for satellite user equipment, adding that similar designs are likely to be adopted by other low-Earth orbit operators.

ST’s collaboration with SpaceX began roughly a decade ago and has since developed into one of the company’s faster-growing specialty chip engagements. Demand from space and satellite applications has increasingly contributed to ST’s higher-value semiconductor portfolio, according to the company.

Space-grade microcontrollers expand ST’s role beyond RF components

Beyond RF components, SpaceX has also selected ST’s STM32V8 microcontroller for parts of the Starlink satellite platform, including a compact laser system used for inter-satellite optical links. Such applications require chips capable of operating reliably in high-radiation low-Earth orbit environments.

Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink engineering at SpaceX, said the STM32V8’s computing performance, memory integration and robustness—enabled by ST’s 18nm FD-SOI process—were key factors in meeting real-time processing requirements, with further deployments planned across future systems.