Unterpremstaetten, Austria (November 17, 2014), The Full Service Foundry division of ams AG (SIX: AMS), a leading provider of high performance analog ICs and sensors, today announced its fast and cost-efficient IC prototyping service, known as Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) or shuttle run, with an updated schedule for 2015. The prototyping service, which combines several designs from different customers onto a single wafer, offers significant cost advantages for foundry customers as the costs for wafers and masks are shared among a number of different shuttle participants.
As a further extension of its “More than Silicon” initiative, ams now provides advanced packaging services to its shuttle participants by offering WLCSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale Packaging) on selected MPW runs within 2015. This unique combination of fast prototyping service plus chip scale packaging offers large cost savings and great flexibility to foundry customers.
ams’ best in class MPW service includes the whole range of 0.18?m and 0.35?m specialty processes. In order to provide leading analog semiconductor process technologies, manufacturing and services, ams offers four MPW runs in 0.18?m CMOS (C18) process as well as four MPW runs in its advanced 0.18?m High-Voltage CMOS (H18) technology supporting 1.8V, 5V, 20V and 50V devices. For the 0.35?m specialty processes, which are based on the 0.35?m CMOS process transferred from TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), a total of 14 runs are offered in 2015. ams’ 0.35?m High-Voltage CMOS process family, optimized for high-voltage designs in automotive and industrial applications, supports 20V, 50V and 120V devices. The advanced High-Voltage CMOS process with embedded EEPROM functionality as well as the 0.35?m SiGe-BiCMOS technology S35 are fully compatible to the base CMOS base process and complete ams’ MPW service portfolio.
Overall, ams will offer almost 150 MPW start dates in 2015, enabled by long lasting co-operations with partner organizations such as CMP,Europractice, Fraunhofer IIS and Mosis.
The complete schedule for 2015 has now been released and detailed start dates per process are available on the web at http://asic.ams.com/MPW.
To take advantage of the MPW service, ams’ foundry customers deliver their completed GDSII-data on specific dates and receive untested packaged samples or dies within a short lead-time of typically 8 weeks for CMOS and 12 weeks for High-Voltage CMOS, SiGe-BiCMOS and Embedded Flash processes.
All process technologies are supported by the well-known hitkit, ams’ industry benchmark process design kit based on Cadence, Mentor Graphics or Keysight ADS design environments. The hitkit comes complete with fully silicon-qualified standard cells, periphery cells and general purpose analog cells such as comparators, operational amplifiers, low power A/D and D/A converters. Custom analog and RF devices, physical verification rule sets for Assura and Calibre, as well as precisely characterized circuit simulation models, enable rapid design starts of complex high performance mixed-signal ICs. In addition to standard prototype services, ams also offers advanced analog IP blocks, a memory (RAM/ROM) generation service and packaging services in ceramic or plastic.
about the Full Service Foundry division of ams
The Full Service Foundry division of ams has successfully positioned itself in the analog/mixed-signal foundry market. Its process technology portfolio includes 0.18µm and 0.35µm specialty technologies based on ams analog, mixed-signal, high-voltage and RF processes. With its ‘More than Silicon’ initiative, ams offers a comprehensive service and technology package that goes beyond industry-standard foundry services. It includes leading-edge technology extensions such as 3D ICs using Through Silicon Vias, color coating, back end process customization, WLCSP and many more. Superior support during the design phase, high-end tools and experienced engineers, silicon-proven high-performance analog IP blocks, assembly and test services for turnkey solutions complete the Full Service Foundry package.
About ams
ams is a global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced sensor solutions and analog ICs. Our mission is to shape the world with sensor solutions by providing a seamless interface between humans and technology. ams’ high-performance analog products drive applications requiring extreme precision, dynamic range, sensitivity, and ultra-low power consumption. Products include sensors, sensor interfaces, power management and wireless ICs for consumer, communications, industrial, medical, and automotive markets.
With headquarters in Austria, ams employs over 1,600 people globally and serves more than 8,000 customers worldwide. ams is listed on the SIX Swiss stock exchange (ticker symbol: AMS). More information about ams can be found at www.ams.com.
