Chipmakers, particularly fabless companies, can augment their own design resources with the specialized design capabilities of Tower's Authorized Design Centers. By working with the design centers chipmakers can create integrated circuit (IC) designs that are optimized for Tower's manufacturing process technologies.
Authorized Design Centers are capable of designing both complete ICs and embedded intellectual property (IP) blocks and, in addition, support specific design stages in the chip-development process.
Tower chooses design partners for the program based on their ability to provide proven, high-quality services and to create designs that comply with Tower's design and verification rules. Candidates for Tower's program must undergo a rigorous technical and financial screening process. Tower audits companies' technical support capabilities to ensure compatibility with Tower's design and verification flows.