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SiTIME PARTNERS WITH JAZZ SEMICONDUCTOR FOR MEMS RESONATOR MANUFACTURING
SUNNYVALE, Calif., and NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.,
July 11, 2006 -- SiTime Corporation, a privately held
start-up focused on developing MEMS Silicon resonators, and Jazz
Semiconductor, an independent wafer foundry focused primarily on
specialty CMOS process technologies, today announced a partnership
to bring SiTime's MEMS First silicon mechanical oscillator
products to market at Jazz Semiconductor's 200mm wafer foundry.
The MEMS First products are designed to replace traditional
quartz oscillators and can be fabricated using manufacturing techniques
and equipment that exist in the silicon semiconductor industry today.
This capability will allow industrial scaling of MEMS in a foundry
environment.
"Jazz is well-suited to be our manufacturing partner as it
is an established specialty foundry that offers the technology and
customer focus that can help us realize our vision of beginning
to transform the timing industry through MEMS solutions," said
Kurt Petersen, CEO and co-founder of SiTime Corporation. "In
addition, their impressive technical expertise in production silicon
processes helps assure that SiTime will have the tools to create
innovative products."
SiTime is well-positioned to enter the timing markets with its
MEMS First quartz oscillator replacement devices. Next generation,
more integrated solutions will include MEMS oscillator devices and
VLSI semiconductor control functions manufactured on the same silicon
wafer. This integration will couple the functionality of quartz
timing crystals with CMOS or BiCMOS circuitry to enable new product
capabilities. For example, the combination of SiTime's MEMS First
process with Jazz Semiconductor's 0.18 platform, which includes
both RF CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS options, could benefit wireless transceiver
design in standards such as 802.11, Bluetooth and others.
"Jazz's blend of business and technical competency for MEMS
and IC fabrication makes it a strong partner for us," said
Markus Lutz, COO and initial inventor of the MEMS First technology.
"Furthermore, they have a motivated, customer service oriented
team that feels like an extension of the SiTime team."
"This partnership combines SiTime's MEMS design heritage with
our specialty wafer foundry manufacturing enabling new capabilities
and high performance," said David Howard, director of new product
technology for Jazz Semiconductor. "Our two teams are complementary
and in a short period of time have achieved significant results."
About SiTime
SiTime Corporation develops MEMS Silicon resonators and related
products. The MEMS FirstTM and EpiSealTM process licensed from Robert
Bosch GmbH has removed the technical barriers preventing wide acceptance
of this quartz replacement technology. The key benefits of the technology
are still to be fully realized in future value added components.
These benefits include MEMS+CMOS integration, multiple resonators
per die, and system benefits derived from a captive time source.
SiTime's primary investors are Greylock and NEA venture capital
firms as well as Robert Bosch GmbH. More information about SiTime
and SiResTM samples for select customers is available at www.sitime.com
or www.sitime.jp
SiTime Company Contact
Courtney Dimpel
408/328-4427
cd@sitime.com
About Jazz Semiconductor
Jazz Semiconductor is an independent wafer foundry focused
primarily on specialty CMOS process technologies, including High
Voltage CMOS, SiGe BiCMOS and RFCMOS for the manufacture of highly
integrated analog and mixed-signal semiconductor devices. Jazz serves
customers targeting wireless, optical networking, power management,
consumer electronics, storage, aerospace/defense and other high performance
applications. Jazz executive offices and its U.S. wafer fabrication
facilities are located in Newport Beach, CA. For more information, please visit www.jazzsemi.com.
Jazz Company Contact
Jessica McNaughton
949/435-8086
jessica.mcnaughton@jazzsemi.com
Jazz Media Contact
Lauri Julian
949/715-3049
l.julian@mediaconnectpr.com
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