austriamicrosystems Announces First 50V High-Voltage CMOS Process with Embedded Flash.

A further step in expanding austriamicrosystems' leadership in High-Voltage CMOS 

UNTERPREMSTAETTEN, Austria -- austriamicrosystems' (SWX:AMS) Full Service Foundry business unit announced today the industries first 50V High-Voltage CMOS process with embedded Flash. This is the consequent next step in extending austriamicrosystems' leading position in High-Voltage CMOS technology.

The new Flash process technology is, as the High-Voltage CMOS technology, a modular extension of austriamicrosystems' 0.35um CMOS process. 100% compatibility to the base process allows re-use of IP Blocks and adding Flash memory to it on a single chip. The High-Voltage CMOS process is eminently suited for harsh environment, making it ideal for designs in power management, automotive or medical applications.

The products for many applications will benefit from excellent reliability over an extended temperature range by using a proven PMOS-based NVM technology. Endurance will be at least 100k cycles @125x C while data retention is ensured for a minimum of 20 years @125x C. A robust cell concept, optional configuration as Flash or EEPROM memory without any process changes and supply voltage ranges from 2.2V to 3.6V for read and 2.7V to 3.6V for write are the key technology features of the process. Designing a chip is very fast and user-friendly using the HIT-Kit, austriamicrosystems' industry benchmark process design kit.

The austriamicrosystems' 0.35um HV-CMOS technology is the first purely CMOS based High-Voltage process that matches BCD performance and chip sizes at much lower process complexity. It is based on the 0.35um CMOS process transferred from TSMC. It offers fully scalable High-Voltage NMOS and PMOS devices, floating logic libraries as well as a best-in-class power-on resistance. The process allows the integration of 3.3V, 5V, 20V, 50V and 120V devices on a single chip.

"Offering the first 50V 0.35um High-Voltage CMOS process technology with embedded Flash clearly strengthens our leading position in the High Voltage arena and as a foundry service supplier," states Peter Gasteiner, Senior Vice President and General Manager Full Service Foundry. "We are very pleased to offer our customers an excellent HV-CMOS Flash technology which is highly reliable and robust, and offers the unique feature of several voltage levels on the same chip. This gives clients an enormous competitive advantage for their products in applications like power management, automotive, medical or for MEMS controller."

About austriamicrosystems

austriamicrosystems' business unit Full Service Foundry has successfully positioned itself in the mixed-signal foundry market offering well-established RF CMOS, High-Voltage CMOS, BiCMOS and SiGe-BiCMOS processes. With superior support during the design phase, high-end tools and experienced engineers, austriamicrosystems succeeds to be an attractive analog/mixed-signal foundry partner especially for fabless design houses.

austriamicrosystems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs, combining more than 25 years of analog design capabilities and system know-how with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing and test facilities. austriamicrosystems leverages its expertise in low power and high accuracy to provide industry-leading customized and standard analog products. Operating worldwide with more than 1,000 employees, austriamicrosystems focuses on the areas of power management, sensors & sensor interfaces, portable audio and car access in its markets Communications, Industry & Medical and Automotive, complemented by its Full Service Foundry activities. austriamicrosystems is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker symbol: AMS).