austriamicrosystems further expands Multi Product Wafer Service for CMOS, High-Voltage and RF Processes for its Foundry Customers

February 17, 2005 -- austriamicrosystems’ business unit Full Service Foundry provides a cost-efficient and fast ASIC prototyping service by combining several designs from different customers onto one wafer. This approach, known as Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) or shuttle run, allows to share the costs for wafer and masks among a number of different customers.

The customer delivers GDSII-Data's at fixed dates and receives untested packaged samples or dies within a lead-time of typically 8 weeks for CMOS processes and 10 weeks for High Voltage CMOS, BiCMOS and SiGe-BiCMOS processes. All MPW-Runs will be produced at austriamicrosystems’ 8 inch wafer fab in Unterpremstaetten, Austria.

The long lasting cooperation with organizations like Europractice, MOSIS, CMP-TIMA and Fraunhofer IIS, enables austriamicrosystems to offer more than 100 start dates in 2005. The detailed start dates per process are available on the web at: http://asic.austriamicrosystems.com/MPW

austriamicrosystems offers a whole range of processes in 0.8µm and especially in 0.35µm which are based on the 0.35µm CMOS process licensed from TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). The CMOS compatible 0.35µm Silicon-Germanium BiCMOS technology enables designs of RF circuits with an operating frequency of up to 10 GHz combined with high-density digital parts on one single ASIC. The new highlight is the 0.35µm HV-CMOS family with a 20V CMOS process, ideal for power management products and display drivers, and a 50V CMOS process, optimized for automotive and industrial applications. Another expansion of the MPW service is the availability of the advanced 0.35µm process options for opto-electronic and CMOS processes with embedded EEPROM.

All technologies are supported by the well-known HIT-Kit, an advanced design-kit based on CADENCE, MENTOR Graphics or Agilent ADS design environments. These design kits include high precision simulation models, libraries of transistors and passive devices, logic gates, peripheral cells and simulation models for several packages.

In addition to standard prototype services austriamicrosystems is offering analog IP blocks, memory (RAM/ROM) generation service and packaging services in ceramic or plastic.

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, with 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 20 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 800 employees, austriamicrosystems focuses on the areas of power management, sensors & sensor interfaces, portable audio and car access through its business units Communications, Industry & Medical, Automotive and Full Service Foundry. austriamicrosystems is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker symbol: AMS).