Jazz Semiconductor's Innovative Process Enables Integrated Analog, RF, and Power Functions on a Single 0.18um Platform.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Chip Designers Push Limits of Integration, Packing More Functionality on a Single Die and Integrating Multiple Dies into Powerful Analog ICs

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 0.18um process platform. Jazz believes that its 0.18um 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 0.18um platform, and all have different requirements and needs that can be addressed by components offered on the Jazz platform.

"The Jazz 0.18um 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 0.18um Analog and RFCMOS foundry process provides the baseline for its existing 0.18um 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 0.18um 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/um2, and inductors for RF performance, with top metal thicknesses of 5.2um, to achieve higher quality factors.

"Our customers take advantage of a modular, 0.18um 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 0.18um CMOS to analog, RF, high voltage, and high-performance SiGe BiCMOS."

The advanced analog and RF 0.18um 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. 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.