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Jazz Semiconductor’S Analog BCD Process Chosen by Nexsem to Develop New Line of Synchronous PWM Controllers

August 15, 2007 by Jeff Shepard

Jazz Semiconductor and Nexsem announced that Nexsem has selected Jazz Semiconductor’s 0.5µ Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD05) process technology targeted for power management ICs. By utilizing BCD05, Nexsem will be able to develop a variety of products such as step down (Buck) converters widely used in power management products.

BCD05 is a 40V BCD process that features dual gate oxides (5.5 and 16V), complementary N- and P-channel MOSFETs with 5, 7, 16, and 30V capabilities, vertical NPN (VNPN) and lateral PNP (LPNP) bipolar transistors, a variety of passive elements, and an NMOS device rated for 40V operation. This process provides a versatile platform for applications requiring BiCMOS or BCD-only process technologies and integrates 0.5µ CMOS with high-voltage drivers, enabling the fabrication of complex smart-power chips and is well-suited for applications such as power management and smart power, motor control, gate drivers and microprocessor supervisory circuits.

BCD05 is one of three generations of BCD technology offered by Jazz Semiconductor, the other two having 0.25µ (BCD25) and 0.18µ (BCD18) feature sizes to enable the increasing levels of integration of next-generation products.

"We chose the BCD process offered by Jazz due to its maturity and the features that enable higher levels of integration, smaller die size and better performance," said Amir Asvadi, President of Nexsem.

"We are excited by the breakthrough products customers like Nexsem are creating with our 40V BCD process family which now spans from 0.5µ (BCD05) to 0.25 and 0.18µ (BCD25 and BCD18)," said Marco Racanelli, Vice President of Technology and Engineering, Jazz Semiconductor. "By offering multiple BCD nodes, Jazz provides customers like Nexsem a mature platform for current products and the ability to create more highly integrated products in the future while maximizing re-use of high-voltage IP."