News

AMI Semi and MagnaChip Semi Collaborate on SmartPower and Ultra-Low-Power Technology

June 18, 2007 by Jeff Shepard

AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) and MagnaChip Semiconductor announced that MagnaChip will manufacture AMI Semiconductor’s 0.35µ SmartPower technology and continue existing joint development of ULP technology. This agreement follows a November 2005 announcement of a 0.18µ development and foundry relationship between the two companies.

MagnaChip and AMIS have developed a 0.18µ ultra-low power (ULP) process that enables customers to extend battery life by combining a typical off-current of 0.1pA/um² for the core logic transistor with an optimized design environment including low-power standard cells and SRAM compilers from Virage Logic. The ULP process offers embedded EEPROM, all standard mixed-signal modules and ultra-high reliability. Developed in conjunction with AMIS, the process is targeted at battery powered and other key low-power consumer and medical devices.

Another part of the agreement covers the SmartPower process transfer from AMIS to MagnaChip along with a capacity agreement that allows AMIS to utilize MagnaChip’s foundry services to address significant growth opportunities in the high-voltage telecom market. AMI Semiconductor’s SmartPower 0.35µ mixed-signal process supports up to 80V operation and combines high-density digital circuits, high-voltage circuitry and high-precision analog blocks on a single chip.

"We are pleased to have MagnaChip as a manufacturing partner to supplement our own manufacturing operations," said Chris King, CEO of AMIS. "The collaborative effort of both companies will provide our customers with leading-edge technology and, thus, advanced products for low-power medical applications, such as hearing aids and implantable devices, as well as high-voltage telecom products, such as highly-integrated power-sourcing equipment, that use SmartPower technology."

"We appreciate the confidence AMIS has shown in MagnaChip by embracing us as a manufacturing partner in two key process technology areas," said Sang Park, Chairman and CEO of MagnaChip. "We believe that this relationship will enable our two companies to grow in the ultra-low-power and SmartPower markets and provide customers top-level quality and capabilities in their end products."