Tower to manufacture MRAM from Crocus
Tower will hold an equity position in early stage MRAM developer Crocus and claims the deal readies it to be first foundry with MRAM capability

6/19/09
Suzanne Deffree

MRAM developer Crocus Technology and foundry Tower Semiconductor have announced an agreement to port Crocus' MRAM process technology into Tower's 200-mm Fab2 facility. In addition to collaborating on the process port, which Tower claimed readies it to be the first foundry with MRAM capability, the Israel-based company is taking an equity position in the Sunnyvale, Calif-based Crocus, valued at $1.25 million.

"Transitioning from an incubation setting to a commercial production environment is a major leap forward for Crocus," said Jean-Pierre Braun, co-founder and CEO of Crocus, in a statement Thursday. "Tower is known as a leading foundry in non-volatile memory (NVM) solutions and is an ideal partner to make this a very successful high margin business for both companies."

Tower invests in Crocus, tips MRAM foundry deal

6/18/09
Mark LaPedus

Moving closer to commercial production, MRAM startup Crocus Technology Inc. has announced it received new funding from Entreprises et Patrimoine in the amount of 1.3 million euro ($1.8 million US) and expanded its foundry alliance with Israel's Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (company will hold a 1.25 million equity position in the company).

The announcement completes the establishment of Crocus' wafer manufacturing capability. Under the plan, Tower will port Crocus' MRAM technology into its 130-nm foundry process, with a migration path to 90-nm. As part of the exclusive agreement, Tower will perform all manufacturing steps required for Crocus' MRAM technology within its Fab 2 plant, a 200-mm facility. Tower and Crocus will each dedicate specific equipment in Tower's fab.

The Tower deal, coupled with the new funding, is aimed to support Crocus' development and market introduction of its first MRAM products. MRAM (Magnetoresistive random access memory) is a technology that uses the magnetism of electron spin to provide non-volatility without wear-out.

Israel's Tower Semi gets contract from Crocus Tech

6/18/09

Tower Semiconductor announced an agreement to port Crocus' MRAM process technology into Tower's manufacturing environment. In addition to collaborating on the process port, Tower further reaffirmed the value it sees in Crocus' unique MRAM technology by taking an equity position valued at $1.25 million.

MRAM has broad applicability both as standalone and embedded memory. The integration into Tower's copper 130nm logic process sets the stage for bringing to market leading edge single chip memory products as well as for embedding MRAM into complex SOCs for market segments such as microcontrollers, automotive and communications.

In addition, embedded MRAM effectively targets the integrated memory components of the SOC and ASIC markets, which together constitute over $10 billion in semiconductor revenues.

Jazz Semiconductor Achieves ISO/TS 16949 Automotive Quality Management System Certification

6/16/09

Jazz Semiconductor announced its ISO/TS 16949 certification, the highest international quality standard for the automotive industry. This represents a critical milestone in the company's strategic roadmap and has paved the way for increased presence in the automotive market. Furthermore, it demonstrates their commitment to meeting the most stringent standards for manufacturing processes and work procedures, resulting in the highest quality semiconductor products in the industry.

"With this certification, all of Tower/Jazz facilities are now working under the same high standards of qualification. Tower also attained the Quality Automotive certification, and both companies have already achieved other world-class quality standards such as Environmental Management, Health & Safety, and Information Security," said Don Cerney, Vice President, Worldwide Quality and Reliability, Tower Semiconductor. "Compliance with these leading industry systems standards is testimony to our dedication to maintaining and continuously improving quality and performance which benefits all of our partners and customers."

May 2009

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. and Applied Materials, Inc. announced today that they have signed a five-year contract to support all Applied Materials wafer processing systems at Tower's Fab 2 manufacturing facility in Migdal Haemek, Israel. Through its Applied Performance Service program, the most cost-effective and flexible service offering in the semiconductor industry, Applied will provide Tower with committed system uptime at a low, predictable cost that varies with factory loading - a critical benefit at a time of uncertain market conditions.

Jazz Semiconductor's DIRECT Multiproject Wafer (MPW) Shuttle Program enables rapid design verification and faster time-to-market

5/27/09

Jazz Semiconductor, announced its DIRECT Multiproject Wafer (MPW) shuttle program offering customers quick and low-cost prototyping with access to high performance processes. The program provides a vehicle to develop new designs in CMOS, SiGe and SOI and bring these to market quickly, without incurring the full cost of a complete mask set.

The DIRECT MPW program offered by Jazz is especially advantageous for Aerospace and Defense (A&D) customers requiring ITAR protection by handling projects directly at its U.S. headquarters without access by a third party. The company's A&D support, operations and logistics team is specifically designed to support low volume production for critical Military Programs at its ISO 9001 US-based manufacturing facility.

Tower Semi's Jazz expands tuner output for flat TVs

5/21/09

Xceive Corporation, the market leader in hybrid silicon tuners with proven success in PC, television and the digital home, and Jazz Semiconductor, a Tower Group ( TWGP - news - people ) company (NASDAQ: TSEM, TASE: TSEM), and the leader in Analog-Intensive Mixed-Signal (AIMS) foundry solutions today announced volume production with Xceive's Silicon Tuner, the XC5000, recently selected by LG for its high-end flat panel TVs.

SOFTWARE TOOLS: Power management targeted with scalable RDS(on) design tool

5/20/09
Paul Buckley
Power Management DesignLine Europe

Tower Semiconductor and its fully owned US subsidiary Jazz Semiconductor, Inc., (Santa Clara, California) are claiming an industry first with the introduction of scalable RDS(on) versus breakdown voltage design kit technology that enables 10 to 40 percent smaller die sizes and faster design cycle times targeted at the growing power management market.

New Offering Targets Aerospace/Defense and High Performance Analog Applications

4/27/09

Simucad Design Automation and Jazz Semiconductor announced the release of Process Design Kits (PDKs) for Jazz Semiconductor's 0.25um technology to address the needs of high-performance specialty markets such as those in aerospace, defense, and high-performance analog. The release complements existing Simucad PDKs for Jazz Semiconductor's 0.18um RF CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS which together provide customers a quality design environment at an affordable cost enabling a strong return on investment particularly for lower volume, specialty markets.

Simucad supports seven additional Jazz process technologies, CA18HA, CA18HR, CA18HD, SBC18HA, SBC18HX, SBC35QTA, SBC35QTS ranging from 0.18um to 0.5um.

"We are excited to continue to expand our relationship with Jazz Semiconductor to benefit our mutual customers," said Dr. Ivan Pesic, CEO of Simucad. "With our fully integrated, affordable IC design software and Jazz PDKs, customers in the Analog, Mixed-Signal, and RF design markets have everything they need to tape out high quality ICs."

Jazz Semiconductor Joins Cool Planet Project

4/22/09

To be more energy efficient in the operation of its globally competitive 24/7 fabrication facility, Jazz Semiconductor has already instituted new technology and practices that have resulted in a savings of more than 7.5 million kilowatt hours per year, resulting in the avoidance of 5,386 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions - the equivalent of taking 986 cars off the road.

"We take energy efficiency very seriously," says Nabil Alali, Senior Vice President, Fab Operations and Site Facilities, Jazz Semiconductor.

"We have a designated team at Jazz that helps us collaborate for successful energy management with partner companies and vendors. We have completed projects that have improved the performance and energy efficiency of air, water, and process and production equipment systems thereby reducing consumption of water, compressed air and electricity throughout our plant."

Tower Semi's Jazz unit gets South Korean deal

4/7/09

Tower and Jazz Semiconductor announced that Cesign, a Korean-based fabless analog semiconductor company, has selected Jazz's leading-edge power management technology, a 0.25-micron Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS process (BCD25) to develop and manufacture its innovative Class-D amplifier targeted for the consumer electronics market.

Jazz's BCD25 process technology offers the first scalable Rdson versus breakdown voltage design kit technology enabling optimized area for every transistor. BCD25 provides significant cost reductions by allowing designers of power devices to achieve a significant shrink in device area size. In addition, the BCD25 process offers advanced CMOS, a combination of bipolar NPN and PNP devices, as well as high voltage LDMOS FETs that take advantage of 0.25-micron rules to reduce on-resistance and size of power cells used in complex power management chips.

Applied enters multi-year system support agreement with Tower Semiconductor

4/6/09

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. has tapped the manufacturer to support all Applied Materials wafer processing systems at Tower's Fab 2 manufacturing facility in Migdal HaEmek, Israel. The two companies have entered into a five-year support agreement that will see Applied's Performance Service program made available to Tower, offering committed system uptime at a low cost that varies with factory loading.

"By leveraging Applied's unmatched infrastructure, technology and global expertise we expect to realize substantial cost and operating efficiencies," said Shimon Dahan, Senior Vice President of Tower's worldwide operations. "We're relying on Applied to maximize tool performance and optimize maintenance cost at any load level, enabling us to focus on delivering world-class CMOS and mixed-signal foundry services to our customers while remaining competitive even when demand fluctuates."

Tower and Jazz Semiconductor Announce Technology and Marketing Conferences in Japan

2/25/09

Tower Semiconductor and its fully owned U.S. subsidiary Jazz Semiconductor announced technology and marketing conferences to be held in Japan in March, 2009. The conferences will focus on SiGe BiCMOS, RF, HPA (high performance analog), power management, embedded NVM (non-volatile memory), and Power LDMOS solutions. Tower and Jazz are reemphasizing their commitment to Japan after their successful merger which created a broader process portfolio for customer innovation.

The conferences demonstrate the companies' continued dedication to meeting customer needs for expanded process offerings, industry-leading design enablement services, and increased capacity. The merger of Tower and Jazz has created significant cross-selling opportunities from Tower to Jazz customers and from Jazz to Tower customers.

"During these challenging economic times, we are even more committed to providing our customers with the advanced and customized process technologies they need to continue to meet their critical product requirements and better sustain their business," said Russell Ellwanger, Chief Executive Officer of Tower Semiconductor. "We are confident that our differentiated process offerings will continue to be embraced by companies in Japan even during this period of economic contraction."

Tower Semiconductor outperforms industry

2/20/09

Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor expects to post revenue of between $56 million and $60 million in the first quarter, its chief executive said yesterday.

CEO Russell Ellwanger said the industry median was expected to be down about 40% in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter.

"Tower is outperforming the industry in the face of this economic downturn," he told Reuters.

Lime Microsystems Selects Jazz's 0.18-Micron SiGe Process for Its Configurable Multi-Band, Multi-Standard Transceiver Targeting WCDMA, CDMA, LTE and WiMAX Femtocells

2/17/09

Jazz and Lime Microsystems, a leading supplier of high performance, multi-standard, multi-band RF transceiver ICs, announced today that Lime has selected Jazz's 0.18-micron BiCMOS SiGe process for its first commercially available transceiver IC. The immediate availability of Lime's transceiver was announced at Mobile World Congress 2009.

Lime Microsystems' IC is a femtocell transceiver for multiple air interfaces and frequencies that can operate with worldwide cellular network standards including WiMAX, 3G and LTE, reducing costs and inventory for global OEMs. Femtocells are emerging as a technology that enables wireless phone use in homes and offices to become a viable alternative to conventional landline telephones, and solves the indoor coverage issues with 3G indoor licensed spectrum, providing more capacity, coverage and services at home. It also reduces operating and infrastructure expenses with seamless handover residential IP network backhaul. The market for femtocells is expected to grow from $434 million in 2009 to $9 billion by 2014.

"Our aim was to design an extremely innovative transceiver that meets the critical requirements for widespread adoption of femtocell technology. Jazz's SiGe BiCMOS technology and expertise in modeling enabled us to integrate high levels of functionality into our leading-edge product," said Ebrahim Bushehri, CEO of Lime Microsystems.

Tower, Triune team on power management IC platform

2/11/09

Peter Clarke

Tower Semiconductor and Triune Systems, an IC design and test development provider, plan to collaborate on developing a power management platform for Tower's foundry customers. The companies are creating intellectual property (IP) for Tower's 0.18-micron bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) process to deliver a family of low- and high-voltage power management products and IP for a variety of applications. In particular, the companies plan to develop zero mask adder non-volatile memory blocks, based on Tower's Y-Flash technology, suitable specifically for 5-V operation on high voltage platforms. High volume production for the high-voltage power management products is expected to commence in the second half of 2009.

"The collaboration with Triune Systems and its contribution to the design of the scalable Y-Flash based NVM blocks will complement our business strategy and core competencies in the consumer, medical, industrial and automotive markets," said Avi Strum, specialty business unit vice president at Tower, in a statement.

Tower Semiconductor and Triune Systems to Collaborate on Power Management Platform

2/11/09

Tower and Triune Systems are collaborating to develop the most complete power management platform in the industry. In order to meet customer demand for power supplies in consumer, medical, industrial and automotive applications, Tower's process technology combined with Triune Systems' IP will provide a complete power management platform. Through this alliance, Triune Systems has become a Tower-Authorized-Design-Center (TADC). The company is well-suited for this endeavor with expertise in power management, signal conditioning, and mixed-signal System-on-Chip (SoC) development and years of experience working on catalog and custom devices for the specific markets Tower and Triune Systems are targeting.

"As a Tower-Authorized-Design-Center, Triune Systems' expertise in design and IP development will further enhance our power management platform to allow for faster design cycles and lower cost designs," said Dr. Avi Strum, specialty business unit vice president, Tower Semiconductor. "The collaboration with Triune Systems and its contribution to the design of the scalable Y-Flash based NVM blocks will complement our business strategy and core competencies in the consumer, medical, industrial and automotive markets."

Jazz sponsors university students to test design ideas on actual silicon,
completing layout and fabrication on 180nm SiGe technology

2/9/09

Purdue Chip-to-Chip Wireless Data Link Using 40 GHz Transceiver
Wins SRC/SIA IC Design Challenge

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the world's leading university research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, today named a team of graduate students from Purdue University as winners in the SRC/SIA IC Design Challenge. The Purdue team's winning design was for a chip-to-chip wireless data link using a 60 GHz transceiver. More than 47 teams from 28 universities competed to design circuits with potential future electronic applications.

Teams from Texas A&M University and Carnegie Mellon University took second and third places. Awards were made yesterday at the 2009 International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco.

The top eight teams from Phase 1 were selected in March 2008 and then competed in Phase 2 by demonstrating their design ideas on actual silicon, completing layout and fabrication on 180nm SiGe technology courtesy of sponsor Jazz Semiconductor.

High performance IC circuits often have millions of transistors and involve complex digital, mixed-signal, and sometimes RF circuits. Engineering students learning design of integrated circuits rarely get the opportunity to take a design through all the steps of circuit fabrication in an advanced technology because of the high cost involved. The contest judges selected the top three teams based on the teams' design and successful demonstration of a creative high performance application including fabrication, test, and characterization of their circuits.

Skyworks names Jazz its 2008 Foundry Supplier of the Year

2/3/09

Specialty silicon wafer foundry Tower Semiconductor Ltd of Migdal Haemek, Israel says that its wafer foundry subsidiary Jazz Semiconductor Inc of Newport Beach, CA, USA, which focuses on analog-intensive mixed-signal process technologies, has received the 2008 Foundry Supplier of the Year Award from Skyworks Solutions Inc of Woburn, MA, USA.

Skyworks designs and manufactures linear products, power amplifiers, front-end modules and radio solutions based on analog and mixed-signal semiconductors for handset and infrastructure equipment. Jazz says that it was selected as Foundry Supplier of the Year for its improved cycle times and quality, technology innovation enabling key initiatives, strong customer support and improved alignment on business strategies. Skyworks recognized Jazz's dedication to providing process technologies and design enablement capabilities to meet critical time-to-market demands quickly and cost-effectively.

Tower and Jazz Semiconductor Expand Presence in Korea
to Address Growing Customer Demand

1/22/09

Tower Semiconductor, Ltd. (NASDAQ: TSEM)(TASE: TSEM), and its fully owned U.S. subsidiary Jazz Semiconductor, Inc., today announced the appointment of Michael Song as Korea Country Manager to increase business presence and activity, focusing on the growing power management, analog/mixed-signal, image sensor and RF application markets in this region. In addition, the companies have hired Michael Yoon to serve as Technical Sales Manager in charge of providing local technical customer support.

Currently, Tower and Jazz serve integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and fabless companies in Korea in power management and CMOS image sensors as well as analog and RF applications such as tuners, WLAN and GPS devices. The companies are focused on providing increased business and technical support to address the growing customer needs in these markets, specifically power management (PM), which is expected to grow to nearly 10 percent of the worldwide PM market in 2010, according to iSuppli.

Former Intel executive joins Tower Semiconductor as Chairman

1/6/09

S McMahon

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. has announced the appointment of Amir Elstein as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Elstein, a former General Manager of Intel Electronics Ltd., joins the company from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, where he was a board member and Executive Vice President in the Office of the CEO. He brings over 28 years of semiconductor industry experience to the role.

Russell Ellwanger, CEO of Tower, said, "We are excited to enter into our next phase of growth with Amir's Board leadership. He is a semiconductor industry veteran with an outstanding reputation and I am confident that with Amir we will capitalize on the opportunities that the present worldwide economic situation offers to the bold."

GSA Mixed-Signal/RF Subcommittee Is Facilitating an Analog Ecosystem

October/November 2008

By Dr. Marco Racanelli

Outsourcing the manufacturing for analog technology is creating a new supply chain. It also is supporting an ecosystem that mirrors the already well-established method that's used for digital technology. The world of analog, however, is more highly customized. It also is less easily standardized than the world of digital. This aspect creates unique challenges in supporting an efficient disintegrated supply chain. Recognizing these challenges, the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) has formed the Mixed-Signal/Radio Frequency (RF) Subcommittee.

This subcommittee's work is helping to standardize the interface between many aspects of the analog supply chain. As a result, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) can more easily and efficiently augment their capabilities by partnering with outside manufacturers and creating environments that support a fab-light or fabless analog industry. The subcommittee helps to link an ecosystem of analog product companies with foundries, electronic design automation (EDA), intellectual property (IP), and other required infrastructure. In doing so, it helps to create an efficient support ecosystem for the analog industry of the future.

To view full article, CLICK HERE

Joanne Itow, Managing Director

11/10/08

Tower Semiconductor and Jazz Semiconductor have taken a big step which sets them up to uniquely meet the needs of many companies looking for a foundry partner to provide a solution to their manufacturing challenges. The merger of Tower and Jazz brings together a number of complementary ingredients. Tower has a strong presence in embedded non-volatile memory and image sensor technologies while Jazz has always been known for its BiCMOS, SiGe, RF CMOS, and power/BCD technologies.

The customers of Tower and Jazz had very little overlap making the combined business much more broadly based. In addition, the combined manufacturing capacity now has a worldwide presence with an opportunity to operate in a much more efficient manner. Tower also has a proven track record of successful technology transfers for both specialty and legacy products.

Since Russell Ellwanger took charge of Tower in May 2005, the company has consistently improved its manufacturing operation and expanded its customer base. The merger with Jazz will position the company to be an even stronger player in the very fast growing specialty foundry arena. The name of the game is definitely survival of the fittest.

Tower Semiconductor Ranked by Deloitte Israel as One of "2008 Technology Fast 50" for the Second Year in a Row Based on Five-Year Revenue Growth

11/4/08

Tower Semiconductor was selected as one of the 2008 Deloitte Israel "Technology Fast 50", a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in Israel, for the second year in a row. The program ranks Israeli technology companies based on their five-year revenue growth between 2003 and 2007.

.Making the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is a testament to the company's commitment to technology", said Asher Mechlovich, partner in charge of the Deloitte Brightman Almagor Zohar Israel "Technology Fast 50" Program. "With its 276% growth rate over five years, Tower Semiconductor has proven that its leadership has the vision and determination to grow even in difficult conditions."

MOBILE INDUSTRY

Ubidyne Selects Jazz Semiconductor´s 0.18-Micron SiGe BiCMOS Process to Develop World´s First Pure Digital Radio System

10/17/08

Ubidyne, the leader in digital radio technology for the wireless industry has selected Jazz Semiconductor's 0.18-micron SiGe BiCMOS (SBC18HXL) process for Ubidyne's uB Universal Micro-radio, the world's first pure digital antenna embedded radio system for wireless communications. Ubidyne's uB Universal Digital Micro-radios offer the highest level of integration and radio performance by embedding directly into the antenna housing, eliminating the need for remote electrical tilt motors, large power amplifiers and bulky coaxial feeders.

The analog integration that Jazz provides enables customers like Ubidyne to offer higher performance, higher precision and more power-efficient products than were previously possible,. said Chuck Fox, senior vice president of worldwide sales, Tower Semiconductor. .Jazz.s SBC18H2 with 200GHz Ft/Fmax is providing a roadmap in the wireless market for even better next-generation performance..

Ubidyne Selects Jazz Semiconductor to Develop World´s First Pure Digital Radio System

10/15/08

Jazz Semiconductor, Inc., a Tower Group Company (NASDAQ:TSEM)(TASE:TSEM), and a leader in Analog-Intensive Mixed-Signal (AIMS) foundry solutions, and Ubidyne, the leader in digital radio technology for the wireless industry announced that Ubidyne has selected Jazz Semiconductor.s 0.18-micron SiGe BiCMOS (SBC18HXL) process for Ubidyne.s uB Universal Micro-radio, the world.s first pure digital antenna embedded radio system for wireless communications.

Ubidyne.s patent-pending technology significantly improves the operating economics of wireless networks, reducing energy consumption, enabling simple, flexible deployment, and increasing the coverage and capacity of mobile communications networks.

.We are revolutionizing the industry with the development of a superior alternative to traditional radio platforms that is both cost-effective and efficient,. said Mike Levis, COO of Ubidyne. .By utilizing Jazz.s SiGe BiCMOS process, we are able to significantly improve performance for our latest Micro-radio technology.

Foundries Tower and Jazz complete merger

September 2008

The merger between chip foundries Tower Semiconductor Ltd and Jazz Technologies, Inc. has been completed. Both Jazz Technologies and its subsidiary, Jazz Semiconductor, Inc., will now became wholly owned subsidiaries of Tower Semiconductor.

The move combines Tower's strength in CMOS image sensor, non-volatile memory and RF CMOS with Jazz's expertise in mixed signal, power management and RF. The companies stress the merger creates significant cross-selling opportunities from Tower to Jazz customers and from Jazz to Tower customers. Tower also expands its fab portfolio. The company has its fabs in Israel. Jazz has a fab in Newport Beach and has capacity agreements with various foundries in China. In total, the combined company offers capacity of approximately 750,000 8-inch wafer starts annually.

Russell Ellwanger, Tower's chief executive officer, will take over as chairman of Jazz, and will be responsible for developing final details of the merged organizational structure and the integration plan over the next months. Ellwanger commented: "We expect the merger of the two companies to provide expanded opportunities for growth based on the significant cross-selling opportunities and the broader, more complete product, technology, and service portfolio we are now able to offer to customers. These opportunities further enhance the immediate benefits we expect the merger to provide to our cost structure, which when combined with the recently announced anticipated restructuring of our debt, we expect to result in significant improvements to our financial results, EBITDA and cash flow margins, as well as greatly improve the balance sheet of the combined company."

Customers' Needs Come First and Foremost

September 2008

by Samir Chaudhry, Manager, Modeling and Characterization, Jazz

From an IC foundry perspective, a dedicated understanding of evolving customer expectations is an important factor when developing a new product. In addition, providing customers with design enablement tools is key to first time success. In the case of designing new integrated circuits (ICs), customer requirements often include achieving optimal performance; customizing designs while still reducing design cycle time; managing costs, and; realizing quick time-to-market.

When customization is required by customers, modular and proven process technology platforms are the foundation for first time success. With a goal of reducing time-to-market and prototyping costs, best-in-class design automation tools are imperative. Design enablement tools, including silicon verified device models and flexible design environments, allow customers to test, modify and improve the functionality and yield of new products on the computer long before the first prototype is manufactured.

Managing costs, both during the prototyping and production phase, is key to managing an omnipresent customer expectation on value. In summary, maintaining open lines of communication with customers is critical in successfully achieving overall product development satisfaction and accelerating time-to-revenue.

Jazz Semiconductor Expands AIMS Functionality with Adoption of Cadence Virtuoso IC 6.1 Custom Design Platform

September 8, 2008

Jazz announced availability of the Jazz IC 6.1 process design kit (PDK) for Cadence Design Systems' Virtuoso® IC 6.1 custom design platform in Jazz's 0.18-micron SiGe BiCMOS process (SBC18). The collaboration between Jazz and Cadence on integrated radio frequency/mixed-signal (RF/MS) platforms reduces time-to-market for AIMS products.

The adoption of IC 6.1 enables Jazz to improve the analog simulation and layout capabilities over previous generations. It provides customer focused solutions through an AIMS environment improving modeling and accuracy, enabling first silicon success for a greater time-to-market advantage. By supporting the RF and analog/mixed-signal (AMS) kits, customers have access to RF, analog and digital design technology to help them streamline the design of complex mixed-signal chips.

Silicon TV tuners kick the CAN

7/16/2008

Until the most recent product announcements, silicon tuners have fallen well short of the performance offered by hand-tuned CAN tuners. But one company in particular seems to have focused on achieving the best possible silicon solutions for fixed TV tuners: Xceive.

Xceive is now selling its fourth-generation TV tuner product: the XC5000. The tuner is claimed to exceed the performance of traditional CAN tuners from companies such as Philips, Samsung, Thomson and Panasonic, blowing away other silicon tuners.

Xceive claims better performance in both digital sensitivity (greater than a 2-dBm improvement) and analog performance (a 2- to 5-dB improvement in SNR) over premium CAN tuners. (The XC5000 was fabricated using Jazz Semiconductor's 0.18-µm SiGe BiCMOS process).

Smallest Jazz process offers lean, green chips

6/20/08

Jazz Semiconductor has quadrupled the cutoff frequency that chips made in its SiGe fab can achieve, boosting its challenge to rival silicon and GaAs technologies. By cutting the size of its lithographic process from 0.35 µm to 0.18 µm the Newport Beach, California, company has boosted peak cutoff frequency, fT, from 50 GHz to 200 GHz. This enhances the advantage that devices made with the process have over RF CMOS, and can convert to energy efficiency improvements where high frequencies aren't needed. At the International Microwave Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 17, Jazz claimed that 0.18 µm SiGe fabrication can now provide a 30 percent efficiency advantage over silicon. Even with the new process in place, Jazz feels that GaAs retains a strong hold on applications at frequencies above 5 GHz. However it is confident it can compete below 5 GHz, and can more readily integrate different functions in CMOS. That includes the possibility of integrating a silicon transceiver, with an RF power amplifier, switch and logic functionality. This integration has been aided by a new process based on a layer of n-doped SiGe sandwiched vertically between two p-doped SiGe layers, christened 'vertical PNP'. .Vertical PNP does precision analog functions like data conversion and timing,. Mahlen said. .Having a vertical PNP to complement our high-speed, high-end NPN is very attractive, there's really nobody out there that is selling that today.

Jazz Announces SiGe BiCMOS Technology for Green, Energy Efficient Analog IC

6/17/08

Jazz Semiconductor recently announced its 0.18-micron Silicon Germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS platform (SBC18) that enables customers to deliver next generation green, energy efficient analog ICs. Jazz's modular process technology offers significant power and efficiency savings over standard CMOS. The SBC18 platform incorporates high speed, standard, and high breakdown SiGe Bipolar transistors, or SiGe NPNs, for low noise, high switching speeds and better linearity than can be achieved with a typical 0.18-micron CMOS offering, for applications where those features are required. For a given performance level, Jazz's SiGe NPN provides up to 30% power savings over standard CMOS for high speed precision analog circuits using Current Mode Logic (CML). Jazz also announced a Vertical PNP (VPNP) module for SBC18 which can be paired with a SiGe NPN to enable the design of analog circuits that require high voltage, complementary drive or amplification beyond the capability of standard CMOS. Jazz's VPNP showcases a low capacitance, high current drive, and high breakdown voltage that enable up to 30% efficiency improvements yielding power and die area savings for output stage and power applications.

Tower Semi strengthens analog-intensive mixed signal foundry service with Jazz acquisition

5/20/2008

Creating what the companies believe is the leading specialty pure-play foundry with trailing 12 month revenues of $443 million, the two foundries are coming together to offer specialty processes including CMOS image sensors (visible and non-visible), radio frequency (RF CMOS, SiGe and BiCMOS) and power management (CMOS and BCD). With operational facilities now spanning the globe with three fully owned fabrication facilities in the US and Israel, along with an ownership interest in a fab in China, Tower believes this is a significant opportunity to boost its revenue and realize as much as $40 million in annual cost savings through synergies of the combined businesses. We are confident that we will realize significant benefits and synergies, including a comprehensive process portfolio which expands our addressable market and fuels a growing and more diversified customer base with highly differentiated product platforms, commented Russell Ellwanger, CEO of Tower, in a statement.

Tower Semi buys Jazz Technologies

5/19/2008

Expanding its efforts in the specialty foundry arena, Tower Semiconductor Ltd. has signed a deal to acquire Jazz Technologies Inc. The move will expand Tower's worldwide presence. In an interview, an executive from Jazz insisted that the merger makes sense. The technologies from Tower and Jazz are ''complementary'' -- and not competitive, said Chuck Fox, vice president of sales and marketing of Jazz. The companies bring together Tower's strength in CMOS image sensor, non-volatile memory and RF CMOS with Jazz's expertise in mixed signal, power management and RF. ''The acquisition creates economies of scale, which allows for improved margins and strongly complements our specialty process offering, transforming us into the leading specialty pure-play foundry,'' said Russell Ellwanger, CEO of Tower, in a statement.

Varactor libraries enable faster time to market

March 2008

The MOSVAR varactor model libraries in its 0.13 and 0.18-micron analog-intensive mixed-signal technology platforms target wireless and other communication products. The model improves simulation accuracy while reducing product development time.

The varactor model incorporates recent advances in MOS device physics and modeling and is compatible with the PSP MOSFET model. In addition, it provides MOS varactor specific gate current models and physical geometry and process parameter based parasitic modeling.

Richard Nakajima to manage Jazz Semiconductor's Japan business

3/11/08

Richard Nakajima of RF Design Services company Cubic Micro has been named as Japan country manager for Jazz Semiconductor. Mr. Nakajima will work from Cubic Micro's base in Japan and will provide sales, marketing and business development expertise to the specialist foundry's Japanese operations. 

"Richard Nakajima has an extensive background in foundry services and a record of high achievement," said Chuck Fox, VP of Sales and Marketing for Jazz Semiconductor. "I am confident his leadership and experience will help the sales team address our Japanese customers' needs more effectively, and drive Jazz's next growth phase in Japan's RF, power, and high precision analog markets."

BCD Process Enables 50 Percent Power Die Size Reduction

3/3/08

Jazz Semiconductor has developed enhancements to its advanced Bipolar CMOS DMOS (BCD) process platform including the addition of an ultra low Rdson scalable NLDMOS device enables up to a 50 percent shrink in die size in most power devices. The 0.18 µm BCD process adds the combination of high density 1.8-V digital CMOS with the higher voltage drivers required for highly integrated Power SOC designs. The high-voltage BCD process is available in scales from 0.5µ to 0.18µ with features including VIA stacking, thick top power metal (3 µm) for improved current-carrying capacity, ESD protection circuits, and triple well isolation.

Jazz Releases Advanced MOS Varactor Model Libraries for Wireless Products

2/11/08

Jazz Semiconductor recently announced the release of MOSVAR model libraries in its 0.13 and 0.18-micron AIMS technology platforms targeting wireless and other communication products. The new model improves simulation accuracy reducing product development time and is integrated as a standard component in Jazz’s Design Enablement platform that also includes the previously announced Jazz Inductor Toolbox (JIT) and X-Sigma statistical simulation suite.

Avnera Utilizes Jazz's 0.18-Micron RFCMOS Process for Wireless Music and Voice Chips

1/23/08

Jazz Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Jazz Technologies, and Avnera, a fabless semiconductor company developing the breakthrough AvneraAudio technology for wired-quality wireless audio, announced that Avnera utilized Jazz's 0.18-micron RFCMOS process (CA18), to develop its semiconductor chip technology for wireless speakers, microphones, headphones and headsets that solves the interference problems that have plagued wireless audio for decades.

The companies noted that Avnera's design approach, coupled with Jazz Semiconductor's process technology, has enabled a low-cost, high-quality and easy-to-use wireless audio solution that delivers CD-quality sound without interference and operates like a plug-and-play unit all on a single piece of silicon.

MEMS the word for timing chips
But MEMS startups must move before quartz-crystal giants roll their own

01/14/08

Today, quartz crystals provide the heartbeat for nearly every electronic system, with annual volumes approaching 10 billion units. Electronic circuitry alone cannot generate the precisely spaced pulses that keep gates in synchronization in digital systems, or the rock-solid oscillations that keep analog frequencies tuned. In this sense, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) represent the final frontier in microminiaturization--downsizing this necessary mechanical reference signal from the millimeter scale of quartz crystals to the nanoscale of integrated circuits. For now, SiTime is (one of the leaders) in microelectromechanical-system chips for timing applications and went into volume production last year with chips that are pin-for-pin compatible with the quartz-crystal oscillators that today sell in the billions of units annually. SiTime is a well-funded fabless CMOS chip maker using foundry Jazz Semiconductor for the SiT8002.

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