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JAZZ SEMICONDUCTOR'S INNOVATIVE PROCESS ENABLES INTEGRATED ANALOG,
RF, AND POWER FUNCTIONS ON A SINGLE 0.18µm PLATFORM
Chip Designers Push Limits of Integration, Packing More Functionality
on a Single Die and Integrating Multiple Dies into Powerful Analog
ICs
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 11, 2005 -- Driven by the
market need for more highly integrated products and the proliferation
of multiple wireless interfaces in electronics systems, IC designers
are leveraging process technologies that will allow them to combine
multiple devices such as regulators, battery chargers and power
amplifiers with a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC). These
common building blocks in analog sub-systems have now become candidates
for single chip integration due to the increasing number of functions
spanning the burgeoning markets of cellular phones, wireless handheld
devices, consumer electronics and displays.
Technologies that capture all of the functions required for next
generation, more highly integrated products are currently being
utilized by customers of Jazz Semiconductor, a pure-play wafer foundry
focused primarily on specialty CMOS process technologies, including
SiGe BiCMOS and RFCMOS. In addition to offering high voltage transistors,
Jazz offers and develops high density resistors, capacitors and
inductors for more compact design sizes by scaling passive device
area. Applications that take advantage of the high density passives
include TV tuners for satellite, cable, terrestrial or mobile applications,
cellular transceivers and power amplifiers, as well as wireless
LAN transceivers.
Jazz is addressing the next generation of integration needs in high
performance analog and RF applications with its comprehensive 0.18µm
process platform. Jazz believes that its 0.18µm platform is suited
for applications where analog or RF performance is the dominating
factor, and future integration requires more complex analog, high
voltage, or higher density analog components. Applications such
as power management integration, power amplifier integration, radio
frequency tuning for digital broadcast, or high performance audio
are all target markets for the 0.18µm platform, and all have different
requirements and needs that can be addressed by components offered
on the Jazz platform.
"The Jazz 0.18µm platform offered an optimal feature set that
allowed Micro Linear to integrate complex transceiver and power
amplifier functions on a single die for key emerging wireless markets,"
said Brent Dix, VP of engineering at Micro Linear. "We achieved
a reduced bill of materials and shrunk the die size by achieving
the required levels of analog and RF performance for our circuit
while incorporating moderate levels of standard digital CMOS integration."
Jazz Semiconductor's advanced 0.18µm Analog and RFCMOS foundry
process provides the baseline for its existing 0.18µm SiGe BiCMOS
(SBC18) suite of processes, which, in addition to the module offerings
described, 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 the 0.18µm
CMOS offering, for applications where those features are required.
A Vertical PNP, RF LDMOS, 5.0V and 8.0V extended drain FETs are
offered in addition to standard 3.3V and 1.8V FETs to enable voltage
regulator, battery charger, or RF power amplifier integration and
can be used for multiple applications, including wireless and wireline
transceivers or consumer devices such as disk drives and DVD laser
drivers. In addition to the transistor offerings, Jazz offers high
density passive devices to optimize scaling, including MIM capacitors
with densities up to 4fF/µm2, and inductors for RF performance,
with top metal thicknesses of 5.2µm, to achieve higher quality factors.
"Our customers take advantage of a modular, 0.18µm process
platform that enables aggressive die scaling and predictable performance
to get their differentiated, highly integrated analog products to
market quickly." said Paul Kempf, chief technology and strategy
officer for Jazz Semiconductor. "With the modular CA18 and SBC18 platforms,
customers can continue to integrate functions in their next generation
designs using a single platform that is extendable from digital
0.18µm CMOS to analog, RF, high voltage, and high-performance SiGe
BiCMOS. "
The advanced analog and RF 0.18µm process platform is supported
by Jazz Semiconductor process design kits, digital libraries, complete
documentation and analog and RF modeling suite, to provide users
with an accurate representation of their circuit performance via
simulation and comprehensive, silicon validated modeling techniques.
About Jazz Semiconductor
Jazz Semiconductor is an independent wafer foundry focused primarily
on specialty CMOS process technologies, including SiGe BiCMOS and
RFCMOS for the manufacture of highly integrated analog and mixed-signal
semiconductor devices. Jazz’s executive offices and its U.S.
wafer fabrication facilities are located in Newport Beach, California.
Jazz has expanded its wafer capacity in China through manufacturing
partnerships with Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation
and Hua Hong NEC Electronics Co., Ltd. Contact Jazz Semiconductor
at www.jazzsemi.com
Jazz Company Contact
Jessica McNaughton
949/435-8086
jessica.mcnaughton@jazzsemi.com
Jazz Media Contact
Lauri Julian
Lages & Associates
949/453-8080
lauri@lages.com
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