austriamicrosystems'
business unit Full Service Foundry announced today the availability of its advanced
0.18um High-Voltage CMOS process technology "H18" at the GSA Suppliers
Expo + Conference in Santa Clara, CA. Jointly developed with IBM, the High-Voltage
CMOS process is the 6th generation of continuously improved High-Voltage CMOS
technologies developed at austriamicrosystems and is now ready to be distributed
to lead customers.
The new H18 process offers high integration density enabling SoC applications
(System-on-Chip) as well as best-in-class power-on resistance (Rdson) which
directly results in a silicon area reduction in e.g. driver applications. Additionally,
the process allows the integration of 1.8V, 5V, 20V and 50V devices on a single
chip without any process modifications. Process features such as Shottky barrier
diode, high-resistive and precision poly-, single-, dual and HiK metal-insulator-metal
(MIM) capacitors and up to 7 metal layers complete the state-of-the art High-Voltage
CMOS process.
As only a few mask level adders on top of the CMOS base process are required
to implement high-voltage capabilities, the H18 process is one of the most cost
competitive 0.18um High-Voltage CMOS technologies in the market. This makes
the H18 technology the ideal solution for fabless design houses and IDMs creating
power management products, display drivers, sensors, capacitive actuators, printer
and MEMS driver ICs for applications in the industrial, medical, communications
and automotive markets, supporting robust applications even in harsh environments.
“Leveraging our leading process development know-how in High-Voltage
CMOS technologies, austriamicrosystems complements IBM’s expertise in
advanced CMOS process technology manufacturing.” states Thomas Riener,
General Manager Full Service Foundry. “The joint development of the next
generation High-Voltage technology node enables IBM to enter new markets and
to serve their customers requirements in developing power management, MEMS interface
or medical products. Achieving smallest possible die sizes and highest performance
at very competitive costs makes the new H18 process a very attractive solution
for austriamicrosystems’ foundry customers.”
"The CMOS7HV process is a terrific addition to IBM’s already strong
180nm process technology roadmap” states Regina Darmoni, Director of IBM
Foundry. "The fact that this technology is now ready for lead client designs
is a testament to the commitment of both IBM and austriamicrosystems to jointly
create a best-in-class 180nm High-Voltage CMOS technology to benefit both of
our customers.”