News

IR Signs Foundry Agreement with Tower Semiconductor for Wafer Production

September 24, 2006 by Jeff Shepard

Tower Semiconductor Ltd., a pure-play independent specialty foundry, announced that it has signed a definitive long-term foundry agreement with International Rectifier Corp. (IR) to produce semiconductor wafers for IR at Tower's most advanced facility, Fab2, utilizing IR's proprietary technology. The agreement is for high-volume wafer manufacturing.

"We chose Tower as a foundry partner following a rigorous evaluation process," said Dr. Alex Lidow, International Rectifier's CEO. "Tower's experience in successful technology transfers, combined with a can-do attitude and great engineering talent, made it the best choice for us. We are confident this foundry partnership will further strengthen our leading position in the market."

"We are thrilled that IR, the world leader in power management, chose Tower as a foundry partner," said Russell Ellwanger, Tower's CEO. "Such a decision from a premier company in the semiconductor industry validates the capabilities of Tower's engineering and manufacturing teams. We look forward to many years of partnership and mutual success."

The companies did not disclose whether or not any money was involved in the deal, or the volume of production that Tower would undertake for IR. Last month IR announced plans for teaming up with the Center for Power Electronics Systems in an effort to create a strategic power electronics technology roadmap.