Peregrine, MagnaChip Complete Final Qualification on UltraCMOS Technology Transfer

Jul 3, 2009 15:29 Nikkei Electronics Asia

Peregrine Semiconductor Corp, a supplier of high-performance RF CMOS and mixed-signal communications ICs, and MagnaChip Semiconductor Ltd, a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for high volume consumer applications in Asia, announced that they have completed the final qualification phase in the process technology transfer of Peregrine's UltraCMOS SOS (silicon-on-sapphire) technology to MagnaChip's Cheongju wafer manufacturing facility.

The companies said they began the final qualification phase of the technology transfer in July 2008 and released it to production 8 weeks ago. The 10-month qualification cycle of UltraCMOS technology is exceptionally short due to its standard CMOS foundation.

The two teams worked diligently to ensure a smooth final qualification, including the completion of a 500 hour reliability test which delivered zero failures. "The initial production lot has been processed through the fab in record time and is used for customer samples," stated Chandra Kantamneni, vice president of Foundry Operations at Peregrine Semiconductor. "Customer qualification audits are underway for MagnaChip's Cheongju facility and are eagerly anticipating the first deliveries from this additional source" he added.

UltraCMOS mixed-signal process technology is a patented variation of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology on a sapphire substrate. This technology is said to provide high yields, competitive costs and delivers significant performance advantages over competing processes such as GaAs, SiGe BiCMOS and bulk silicon CMOS in applications where RF performance, low power and high levels of integration are paramount.

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