In the News
Magma's Titan Qualified for TowerJazz Reference Flow
Automated solution dramatically improves designer productivity and shortens turnaround time
8/24/10
Magma Design Automation today announced that TowerJazz has qualified the Titan Mixed-Signal Design Platform for TowerJazz's Power Management Analog/Mixed-Signal (AMS) Reference Flow and process design kits (iPDKs) for its 180-nanometer (nm) technologies. Magmas Titan software and TowerJazz's foundry technology provide mutual customers with a comprehensive design and manufacturing solution that enables users to accelerate the design-to-silicon process and achieve first-time silicon success.
"By working together to provide out-of-the-box flows, and create and qualify iPDKs for the most advanced power management offering, TowerJazz and Magma offer mutual customers a faster, more reliable path from design to volume production," said Ori Galzur, vice president of Design Center and iPDK Development at TowerJazz. "Having such a reference flow enables customers to easily design into the complex technologies that TowerJazz develops using automated best-in-class EDA tools."
TowerJazz's CMOS Sensor Process Powers Cypress New Global Shutter Image Sensor with Industry-Leading Throughput
7/27/10
TowerJazz and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. announced that TowerJazz's 0.18-micron CMOS image sensor (CIS) process is being used to power Cypress new 25-megapixel industrial high-sensitivity, high-speed CMOS image sensor targeted for the high-end machine vision market. The VITA 25K sensor, sampling now, provides the markets highest throughput for a device with a unique pipelined and triggered global shutter architecture. According to a report by Roy Szweda, RNR Associates, the forecast for image sensors used in the industrial market is expected to reach close to $840 million by 2014.
"This product joins a series of successful projects we have collaborated on with TowerJazz using their leading CIS process technology," said Georges Hiltrop, General Manager, Image Sensor Business Unit, Cypress. "We are able to continue bringing to market faster and higher sensitivity CMOS image sensors due to our design expertise and patented IP in custom image sensors combined with TowerJazz's high performance CIS process capabilities."
TowerJazz Licenses Kilopass' One-Time Programmable Non-Volatile Memory IP
7/22/10
Specialty foundry TowerJazz, headquartered in Israel, has inked a deal to license Santa Clara, Calif.-based Kilopass Technology's one-time programmable (OTP) memory intellectual property (IP) for its 0.13µm CMOS process. OTP devices can store data even during power shutdown. The information is programmed during production and stored forever, the two companies report; OTP devices are frequently used in video game consoles, mobile phones, RFID tags, implantable medical devices, high-definition multimedia interfaces (HDMI) and many other consumer and automotive electronics products.
Ori Galzur, TowerJazz's VP, said in a prepared statement, "By offering Kilopass OTP, we continue to expand the world-class services we provide to our customers for the cost-effective manufacture of their differentiated products and this expands our addressable market by approximately $100 million."
Earlier this year, TowerJazz partnered with tag maker Tego, which manufactures the TegoTag, a passive RFID tag with 32 kilobytes of memory—far more than current UHF EPC Gen 2 tags (see Tego Launches 32-Kilobyte EPC RFID Tag). Tego is utilizing the 180nm process (TS18) from TowerJazz for its TegoChip, to tag more than 1,500 pressurized and non-pressurized parts and components on Airbus' A350 XWB aircraft fleet, in order to improve such processes as maintenance and warehouse logistics. In January of this year, Tego announced a contract with Airbus providing the first standards-compliant and fully passive RFID tags that enable access to the complete maintenance history of flyable parts.
TowerJazz Licenses its Y-Flash Non-Volatile Memory Technology to a Leading Digital Foundry
6/30/10
TowerJazz announced today that it has licensed its Y-Flash Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) technology to a worldwide leading digital foundry. TowerJazz's Y-Flash cell will be used by this foundry as a building block for its own process modules to enhance its current offering and modify it for implementation in a variety of technology nodes. TowerJazz's Y-Flash technology is the leading solution for NVM in the market today due to its small cell size, zero mask adder and flexibility to implement various NVM sizes.
"That a digital foundry leader chose to license our NVM technology is a substantial confirmation of its capability to enable, among others, fully differentiated power management platforms," said TowerJazz Chief Executive Officer, Russell Ellwanger. "In Q1 TowerJazz established itself as the number one specialty foundry worldwide by revenue. This agreement is one proof of our position as the number one specialty foundry by technology. We are pleased to have entered into this relationship with a leading digital foundry and look forward to its continuance."
TowerJazz, Vishay expand chip partnership
6/29/10
Israeli chipmaker TowerJazz and Vishay Intertechnology said on Tuesday they had expanded their business partnership to include devices used for amplifying or switching electronic signals.
Production of these products, called MOSFETs, is expected to result in tens of millions of dollars in additional yearly revenue, the companies said in a statement.
A market source noted that TowerJazz's revenue from production of chips for Vishay should double to some $70 million a year starting in 2011 from $35 million.
TowerJazz CIS Technology Selected by Canesta
6/23/10
TowerJazz will manufacture Canesta's 3D image sensors; $9.7B CMOS image sensor market will be fueled by the new 3D sensors.
TowerJazz announced that Canesta Inc. is using TowerJazz's CMOS image sensor (CIS) technology to manufacture its innovative CanestaVision 3D image sensors. Next-generation consumer 3D image sensors designed to enable a device to understand and interact with its environment will fuel the image sensor market. According to iSuppli, the CMOS image sensor market was $7.3 Billion in 2007. It is expected to grow to $9.7 Billion in 2012.
"Canesta's solution is the most robust in the industry, offering the best performance compared to any other competing solution. The very tight R&D collaboration and roadmap alignment between our two companies provides near and long term innovative solutions that will further improve performance and power consumption in future generations and will allow wins in many more applications, such as the mobile computing area," said Dr. Avi Strum, Vice President and General Manager of Specialty Business Unit, TowerJazz.
TowerJazz CIS Technology Selected by Canesta
6/21/10
TowerJazz today announced that Canesta Inc. is using TowerJazz's CMOS image sensor (CIS) technology to manufacture its innovative CanestaVision 3-D image sensors. CanestaVision chips are the industry's first single-chip CMOS 3-D image sensor System on a Chip (SoC) for use in consumer desktop computing, TV and entertainment applications.
Next-generation consumer 3-D image sensors designed to enable a device to understand and interact with its environment will fuel the image sensor market. According to iSuppli, the CMOS image sensor market was $7.3 Billion in 2007. It is expected to grow to $9.7 Billion in 2012.
"We have a great deal of sophisticated and unique intellectual property in our chips," said Jim Spare, president and CEO of Canesta. "We are excited to have the use of TowerJazz's advanced CMOS image sensor manufacturing processes."
TowerJazz and Toppan Technical Design Center Announce Strategic Agreement
6/17/10
TowerJazz was selected by Toppan Technical Design Center Co., Ltd. (TDC) as its preferred specialty foundry supplier. TowerJazz has successfully engaged in multiple specialty design projects in Japan with TDC in the area of Silicon Germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technologies used for high speed RF applications. This partnership enables TowerJazz to strengthen its penetration in the Japanese market, particularly TDCs customers targeting RF, high-speed analog, power management, high voltage, CMOS image sensors and MEMS. According to Gartner, the market for foundry services in Japan is expected to grow to $1.3 billion in 2012.
"We are very pleased with the depth and breadth of the TowerJazz specialty process technologies and accuracy of their design enablement models and tools," said Kaname Arai, TDC President & CEO. "This agreement strengthens our relationship and enables improved specialty technology solutions for the Japanese market."
TowerJazz Announces Participation with Cadence at DAC 2010
Companies to Present Advanced PDK Features to Enable Success for RF and Power Designs
6/10/10
TowerJazz announced joint participation with Cadence Design Systems at the 2010 in Anaheim, Calif. on June 13-18. Representatives from the companies will provide a presentation entitled, "Silicon Realization in RF and Power Designs: How advanced PDK features enable design success."
Discussion will cover physical design kit (PDK) building blocks created specifically for the RF or power management markets and how those blocks work along with the Cadence Virtuoso IC 6.1 software suite to provide customers with increased productivity, better design robustness, and higher confidence in the finished design.
"TowerJazzs SKILL PDKs serve as excellent examples of high-value design features that can help our mutual customers quickly and accurately achieve System Realization, one of the key pillars of the EDA360 vision," said John Stabenow, Group Director, Virtuoso Product Marketing at Cadence. "Narrowing the productivity and profitability gaps depends on effective IP integration, and with the latest version of the Cadence Virtuoso platform, the companies are providing customers with more predictable design cycles to accelerate delivery of their next-generation products."
25 environmentally friendly organizations were recognized
Companies to Present Advanced PDK Features to Enable Success for RF and Power Designs
6/4/10
Some 250 attendees joined the celebration honoring OC METRO's 2010 Green Team Thursday night in historic Hangar 244 at the Orange County Great Park. The event recognized 25 environmentally friendly businesses, groups and organizations. This year's mix of honorees included Newport Beach's TowerJazz.
"We're here to celebrate some of the most innovative and committed stewards of the environment – people and companies that are transforming our corner of the world into a healthier, more sustainable region for generations to come," said Steve Churm, OC METRO publisher and CEO of Churm Media, during his opening remarks.
Next-Generation SiGe Technology for High Volume Consumer RF Applications
5/27/10
TowerJazz announced design kit availability for its next-generation 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology (SBL13) for high volume consumer RF applications. The SBL13 process combines SiGe bipolar performance with a mature 130 nm CMOS copper (Cu) backend to achieve high performance RF with more integrated digital logic. The technology is targeted at wireless RF and digital TV tuner applications which together are greater than $1B markets and where higher performance, lower cost and higher digital integration are required.
SBL13 is the first SiGe BiCMOS process to be built in its Israeli fab, and TowerJazz is the only foundry with SiGe BiCMOS in more than one fab, enabling unique manufacturing flexibility for high-performance RF designs.
TowerJazz to Provide ARM Low Power Libraries for 0.13 SiGe BiCMOS and RF CMOS Platforms
Customized for RF and Mobile Applications That Need High Frequency While Maintaining Long Battery Life
5/25/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, today announced they will be providing ARM physical IP low power std cells and memory libraries for TowerJazzs new 0.13u SiGe BiCMOS process (SBL13) and its 0.13u RF CMOS process (TSL13). TowerJazz is adding this to its existing suite of IP to provide leading low power and high performance physical libraries for its customers. The combination of TowerJazzs technology platforms with ARM standard cells, memory compilers and I/Os are ideal for customers designing RF and mobile applications that need high frequency and long battery life.
TowerJazz Announces Participation at IEEE International Memory Workshop (IMW) 2010 in Korea
5/13/10
TowerJazz announced its participation at the IEEE International Memory Workshop (IMW 2010) to be held at Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Korea from May 16-19. Representatives from the company will present two talks on the foundrys leading-edge Non-Volatile Memory (NVM). TowerJazzs patented Y-Flash is the leading solution for NVM in the market today. NVM blocks that utilize this proprietary technology include array sizes that are up to five times smaller than other competitive solutions and can be built using only one gate oxide allowing for ultra low cost designs.
The IMW 2010 is a unique venue for specialists in all aspects of semiconductor memories to share the latest advances in the design and manufacture of semiconductor components. We are pleased to be invited to present our leading NVM technology which provides significant differentiation and cost effectiveness for enhanced foundry solutions," said Todd Mahlen, Director Marketing and Business Development. "We appreciate this opportunity and look forward to providing a detailed overview of our NVM technology to such a talented group of semiconductor industry engineers and academia researchers."
TowerJazz expands foundry lines
5/12/10
This week, Israels TowerJazz announced design kit availability for its next-generation 130-nm silicon-germanium (SiGe), BiCMOS technology (SBL13) for high volume consumer RF applications. The SBL13 process combines SiGe bipolar performance with a mature 130nm CMOS copper backend. Design kits are now available for 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS technology manufactured in both its U.S. and Israeli fabs.
TowerJazz Advances SiGe Technology
5/10/10
Newport Beach-based semiconductor foundry TowerJazz said today that it has announced a next-generation, SiGe technology which it says is aimed at high volume, consumer RF chips. The firm said its next-generation, 130nm SiGe BiCMOS technology is now available at its US and Israeli fabs, and is targeted at high volume, consumer RF applications such as wireless RF and digital TV tuner applications. The company said it already has design wins with a potential market of $50M to $100M in wafer sales using the technology.
TowerJazz Announces Global Symposium in Korea
Conference Demonstrates Company's Technology Leadership Position and Momentum in Korea
5/6/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, today announced its first Global Symposium in Korea focused on the company' s broad range of process technologies and design enablement capabilities. The one-day event will include a keynote from TowerJazz CEO, Russell Ellwanger as well as presentations by other company executives. The sessions will center on the latest technical advances in areas such as integrated power management platforms, non-volatile memory (NVM), RF SiGe applications, current trends in imaging technology, and design enablement tools, among others.
"I am excited to speak to the Korean semiconductor design community to share our technology offerings and our leading design kits that enable best-in-class performance for a variety of consumer applications," said Russell Ellwanger, Tower CEO. "The Korean region is home to many highly skilled IC designers and industry leading semiconductor companies, among which we have and continue to develop strong business partners. The numerous customer press releases of recent months are evidence of the traction and technical high regard we are receiving in Korea. This symposium will be attended by over 40 Korean companies and will highlight our breadth and depth of specialty offerings specifically highlighting our power, high end RF, and image sensor technology platforms. We will also introduce highly differentiated NVM offerings which are being used as additional enablers for applications within our Power and RF platforms."
TowerJazz Selected by Tego as Silicon Partner to Manufacture High-Memory RFID Chips
4/14/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, and Tego, a leading provider of high-memory RFID tagging solutions, today announced a silicon partnership to manufacture the TegoChip, a high-memory passive Gen2 RFID chip. Tego is utilizing the 180nm process (TS18) from TowerJazz for its TegoChip to tag over 1500 pressurized and non-pressurized parts and components on the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft fleet to improve processes such as maintenance and warehouse logistics. Tego recently announced the contract with Airbus providing the first standards-compliant and fully passive RFID tags that enable access to the complete maintenance history of flyable parts.
"We chose to partner with TowerJazz for their expertise and long-term commitment to developing process technologies and IP for RFID applications and because they are a proven silicon provider of low power, non-volatile memory for harsh environments," said Timothy Butler, President and CEO of Tego. "We are excited to provide RFID chips to Airbus and its suppliers for improved maintenance procedures and logistics, increased supply chain visibility and improved forecasting."
Global specialty foundry, TowerJazz has announced that VectraWave has designed its first 40-G high speed coder circuit using a Silicon Germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS process
4/6/10
VectraWave chose TowerJazz's SBC18HX process over Indium Phosphide (InP), the traditional semiconductor material for choice for 40 G circuits, due to its advantage of integrating digital circuits on the same die enabling lower cost, lower power consumption, better temperature compensation and smaller total board area. TowerJazz's industry leading SBC18HX also provides a wide variety of optimized process options and a well defined path to higher performance while maintaining existing analog IP.
"By choosing TowerJazz as our foundry partner, we were able to realize many advantages with their SiGe BiCMOS process over traditional InP solutions including reduced cost, lower power consumption and smaller die size. We also enjoyed the benefits of the company' s high degree of flexibility, reliability and support," said Yan Haentjens, Co-founder and President, VectraWave.
VectraWave's first 40G circuit designed using TowerJazz's SiGe BiCMOS
4/1/10
Fabless company VectraWave in France, which provides RFICs and system-in-package devices for optical and microwave communication equipment makers, has designed its first 40Gb/s high-speed coder circuit using a silicon germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS process.
Specialty foundry TowerJazz of Migdal Haemek, Israel says that VectraWave chose its SBC18HX process over indium phosphide (InP), the traditional material of choice for 40G circuits, due to its advantage of integrating digital circuits on the same die, enabling lower cost, lower power consumption, better temperature compensation and smaller total board area. SBC18HX also provides a wide variety of optimized process options and a well defined path to higher performance while maintaining existing analog IP, says TowerJazz.
"Our range of technology and features allows them to create differentiated high-speed products while taking advantage of our modular 0.18-micron SiGe BiCMOS platform," comments Chuck Fox, TowerJazz' s senior VP of worldwide sales & marketing. "This type of partnership with VectraWave is significant as it enables them an industry first, and we look forward to maintaining our relationship to produce their latest products, which are smaller and more energy efficient than previous generations," he adds.
IPL Alliance welcomes TowerJazz
3/11/10
Global specialty foundry leader, TowerJazz has joined the IPL Alliance, an organization chartered with establishing an interoperable custom design ecosystem.
The IPL Alliance, comprised of major EDA and foundry companies, has devised the first open standard for interoperable Process Design Kits (iPDKs) for analog/mixed-signal designs. The iPDK is based on the OpenAccess database and uses standard languages and unified architecture that ensure interoperability among all EDA vendor tools. Engineering teams only need to develop a single PDK for each process node which reduces development costs, shortens design cycles and provides designers with earlier access to advanced process technologies across multiple tools.
TowerJazz is developing best-in-class iPDKs that are derived from this standard. The benefits of iPDKs for customers over traditional proprietary PDKs include improved performance, increased reuse and portability through use of standards and broader EDA tool support. The pilot process for TowerJazz iPDKs will be its TS18 power management process, however the roadmap will cover all of its processes and TowerJazz customers will have the flexibility to choose which types of EDA flow to use.
TowerJazz Joins IPL Alliance to Achieve Interoperability of Process Design Kits for Analog/Mixed-Signal Designs
3/11/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, today announced it has joined the IPL Alliance, an organization chartered with establishing an interoperable custom design ecosystem. The IPL Alliance, comprised of major EDA and foundry companies, has devised the first open standard for interoperable Process Design Kits (iPDKs) for analog/mixed-signal designs.
The IPL Alliance, comprised of major EDA and foundry companies, has devised the first open standard for interoperable Process Design Kits (iPDKs) for analog/mixed-signal designs. The iPDK is based on the OpenAccess database and uses standard languages and unified architecture that ensure interoperability among all EDA vendor tools. Engineering teams only need to develop a single PDK for each process node which reduces development costs, shortens design cycles and provides designers with earlier access to advanced process technologies across multiple tools.
"Our industry-leading design enablement capabilities set us apart and provide our customers with first time design success and a significant competitive market advantage. Joining the IPL Alliance further demonstrates our commitment to offering the industry' s best models and tools. The iPDK standard allows us to provide our customers with accelerated access to our advanced specialty technologies in a flexible way, resulting in fast product design timelines," said Ori Galzur, Vice President, VLSI Design Center at TowerJazz.
TowerJazz Joins IPL Alliance to Achieve Interoperability of Process Design Kits for Analog/Mixed-Signal Designs
3/10/10
TowerJazz, a leader in specialty processes and design enablement, is developing best-in-class iPDKs that are derived from this standard. The benefits of iPDKs for customers over traditional proprietary PDKs include improved performance, increased reuse and portability through use of standards and broader EDA tool support. The pilot process for TowerJazz iPDKs will be its TS18 power management process, however the roadmap will cover all of its processes and TowerJazz customers will have the flexibility to choose which types of EDA flow to use.
"We are pleased a leading specialty foundry like TowerJazz has joined the IPL Alliance to help promote standardization of PDKs, open innovation, and improved productivity and efficiency for analog and mixed-signal designs. RF and consumer devices are demanding increased integration so the analog portion is now the gating factor on many, if not all, SoC designs. Standardization can reduce PDK development cost while providing designers quicker access to complex process technologies," said Jingwen Yuan, President of IPL Alliance and Strategic Alliance Manager at Synopsys.
TowerJazz Announces Agreement with IC Design Education Center (IDEC) In Korea
3/2/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader announced an agreement with Korea' s IC Design Education Center (IDEC) to accelerate the country' s specialty IC design expertise. Under the terms of the agreement, IDEC will provide Korean universities with access to a broad range of specialty process technologies from TowerJazz's MH fab through discounted multi-project wafer (MPW) shuttles. The agreement underscores TowerJazz' s highly appreciated industry innovation, technology leadership, and growing customer momentum in Korea which includes engagements with C&S Technology, Cesign, Dongwoon, SemiHow, and others.
Russell Ellwanger, TowerJazz CEO, explained the following, "Korea is a thriving region for technical and manufacturing innovation and will remain a center for future technological advancements. We feel that our collaboration with IDEC will be advantageous for the students by providing them practical and challenging experiences at an early stage in their career training and we will, as well, be extending the cooperation to include internships in our design center in Netanya, Israel to the top Ph.D. students of the several leading universities. We have been encouraged by the wide acceptance of our technical excellence and differentiation as measured by the continued and rising number of customer engagements in Korea, in which we are targeting several hundreds of millions of revenue over the coming years. This program is our way of early partnering with the next generation of Korean technical leadership. This, in turn, will have long term benefits to the students/universities, Korean industry, TowerJazz and overall Korean/Israeli relations."
TowerJazz Announces Agreement with IC Design Education Center (IDEC) in Korea
3/2/10
A cooperation ceremony was held in Korea on February 18, 2010 by IDEC and TowerJazz CEO, Russell Ellwanger with several professors from various leading universities. TowerJazz and IDEC will provide Korean universities with access to a broad range of specialty process technologies from TowerJazz' s MH fab through discounted multi-project wafer (MPW) shuttles. IDEC, established in 1995 with support from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Energy and major semiconductor companies, promotes projects for the purpose of national competitiveness by educating highly qualified design experts through support in Korean universities.
"Chip production in an academic environment can be challenging, but the MPW program offered by IDEC gives students the opportunity for actual design experience which is essential to their progress and future careers. By gaining access to the Company' s world leading specialty technologies and interactions with their renowned technical staff, we can enable the students to accumulate abundant design experience and we can nurture highly qualified IC designers," said Dr. Chong-Min Kyung, IDEC Executive Director. "We are very pleased to work with TowerJazz to further advance Korea' s academic R&D achievements."
TowerJazz Rolls out full library of Patented Y-Flash Non-Volatile Memory Blocks at APEC 2010
2/22/10
TowerJazz today announced its full library of Y-Flash Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) building blocks at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC). This patented Y-Flash technology, not available from any other foundry in the industry, is designed to give customers flexibility on memory size, allowing optimization of performance/cost for any given application. TowerJazz invented its Y-Flash building blocks to meet the ever expanding customer needs for NVM in today' s power supplies for consumer, medical, industrial and automotive applications.
TowerJazz' s Y-Flash module was recently integrated into Exar Corporation' s latest digital power management design, and Richard Randlett, Division Vice President, Advanced Analog Design, commented, "TowerJazz has long experience and expertise in NVM technology and is well known in the industry and highly appreciated by Exar. We will definitely gain a great deal by using this technology in our new line of digital power products."
"Our new Y-Flash memory blocks are an industry leading solution for NVM technology and further validate our business strategy and commitment to providing the most complete power management platform in the industry," said Dr. Avi Strum, Vice President and General Manager, Specialty Business Unit at TowerJazz. "We developed this proprietary technology to further enhance our power management offerings, allowing for faster design cycles and lower cost designs for the emerging digital power applications."
TowerJazz Named 2009 Supplier of the Year by Skyworks Solutions
2/18/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, today announced it has received the 2009 Supplier of the Year Award from Skyworks Solutions, Inc., an innovator of high reliability analog and mixed-signal semiconductors enabling a broad range of end markets. The award was granted to TowerJazz based on superior quality, cycle time, flexibility, customer service, and cost improvements. In addition, for the second year in a row, TowerJazz received the Best Supplier Award for External Foundry for excellent quality, performance and solid alignment with Skyworks' supply chain requirements.
Skyworks, a TowerJazz customer since 2002, utilizes a broad set of the foundry's specialty process offerings including mixed-signal CMOS, RFCMOS, BiCMOS and SiGe BiCMOS, to develop a wide range of Skyworks' products such as transmit/receive modules, power amplifier controllers, switch controllers, linear devices, and wireless LAN solutions.
"We applaud TowerJazz on its continued dedication to meeting our supply chain requirements and providing quality technology and design enablement services," said Bruce J. Freyman, Vice President, Worldwide Operations for Skyworks. "TowerJazz was recognized as our best overall supplier because it excelled in various areas. Throughout the difficult downturn and rapid rebound in 2009, TowerJazz delivered strong support in meeting our demands to deliver high quality, leading-edge devices to our customers quickly."
TowerJazz accelerates capacity expansion
2/16/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, today announced it has accelerated plans for additional capacity expansion to meet customer demand, which is exceeding current capacity. In the company's Fab2 located in Israel, capacity will increase by approximately 30,000 wafers per year in order to meet the greatly expanding needs of customers for its wide range of specialty process technologies.
In the company's manufacturing facility located in Newport Beach, CA, capacity will be increased by 36,000 wafers per year to enable the fab to accommodate the substantial increase in demand necessitating more than 100 percent utilization.
Russell Ellwanger, CEO of TowerJazz stated, "Our plans for capacity expansion are based upon customer forecasts and projections which support continued growth as we gear up for a strong 2010 and 2011. We are committed to our customers` success as demonstrated by our move to quickly expand capacity and we are excited to help enable their market growth and to increase our market share. The additional equipment will obviously increase our wafer output enabling a higher revenue base, but as well, some tools are specifically directed to continue to grow our competitiveness within high value segments of the specialty foundry arena."
TowerJazz Receives Outstanding Achievement in Energy Efficiency Award from Southern California Edison
2/11/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, today announced it has received an Outstanding Achievement in Energy Efficiency Award from Southern California Edison (SCE). The foundry reduced its annual energy usage in its Newport Beach facility by 9 million kilowatt-hours, which is the carbon-reduction equivalent of 12,982 barrels of oil or 1,071 cars on the road. To reduce its energy use and "green" operations, TowerJazz has been conducting an ongoing efficiency overhaul and has instituted new technology and practices throughout the company that have contributed to significant energy savings.
"We are committed to reducing our energy consumption and carbon footprint through optimizing efficiency throughout the Newport Beach site utilizing the latest in equipment technology and system design," said Dale Bogan, Director of Facilities, TowerJazz Newport Beach fab. "This award and the projects we have identified are examples of our efforts to achieve best practices and maximize opportunities to collaborate with industry leaders on efficiency improvement projects."
TowerJazz teams with Soitec on BSI platform development
2/5/10
Foundry company TowerJazz has entered into an agreement with Soitec for the development of a turnkey solution for high-end backside illuminated (BSI) CMOS image sensors. With the BSI CMOS market looking set to replace the FSI technology with an expected $800 million take by 2013, the agreement will see the integration of Soitec's substrates and new Smart Stacking technology with TowerJazz's manufacturing process.
The agreement will enable a fast ramp-rate to a complete BSI foundry solution for TowerJazz's customers. Backside illumination offers higher resolution, smaller pixels and higher quantum efficiency, all of which are requirements of the image sensor market. It also allows 100% fill factor of pixels, providing very high light sensitivity in high-end applications. Coupled with Soitec's new substrate technology, the high-volume manufacture of the sensors will be more robust as the Smart Stacking technology enables chip manufacturers to leverage wafer-to-wafer level stacking through low-stress bonding and high-precision thinning of partially or fully processed circuits.
Dr. Avi Strum, Vice President and General Manager of TowerJazz's Specialty Business Unit, commented, "Our collaboration will result in high-performance image sensors and will allow fabless designers to create new generations of ultra-sensitive image sensors, which in turn will enable exciting new applications for cinematography, DSLR cameras, space cameras, and high-end medical cameras, among others."
TowerJazz CEO, Russell Ellwanger, Receives Hi-Tech CEO of the Year Award for Business Breakthrough
1/27/10
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, today announced that its CEO, Russell Ellwanger, received the Hi-Tech CEO of the Year Award in the category of business breakthrough. The Hi-Tech CEO Forum of the Israeli Management Center granted the award as part of a ceremony recognizing CEOs of Israeli companies for outstanding performance. This award is considered the most prestigious in the Israeli hi-tech industry.
The award was granted to Mr. Ellwanger for his leadership and execution of the merger of two companies that brought about a significant strategic and business turnaround for Tower Semiconductor. The merger with Jazz Semiconductor re-positioned the company and launched a new brand, TowerJazz to become the number one specialty foundry worldwide.
The award committee highlighted that Mr. Ellwanger's achievements are extraordinary due to the fact that he envisioned, during a major global economic downturn, the success of combining two entities into one stronger company, gaining increased revenues, substantial synergies and cost savings, best of breed specialty process offerings, customer diversification and enhanced geographical presence.
TowerJazz seeks top billing, joins PDK camp
1/19/10
Global specialty foundry leader, TowerJazz has joined the IPL Alliance, an organization chartered with establishing an interoperable custom design ecosystem.
Last year, TowerJazz gained share. More than one year after buying Jazz Semiconductor Inc., Israel's Tower Semiconductor Ltd.--or TowerJazz--is now taking steps to reach its two main goals in its ongoing turnaround efforts. It hopes to finally reach profitability and become the world's largest player in the wide-open specialty foundry business in 2010.
In a recent conference call, Russell Ellwanger, chief executive of TowerJazz, threw down the gauntlet and stated the company's goal: It would become the "top specialty foundry company in the world." With the combination of Tower and Jazz, TowerJazz is now "one company, twice as strong," he said.
Going forward, the combined entity, TowerJazz, focuses on several key markets: CMOS image sensors, wireless communication, RF-SiGe, high-performance analog and power ICs.
TowerJazz is beginning to gain some traction in power, thanks to its bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) process, based on 0.35- and 0.18-micron technologies. Recently, the company signed a deal with Intersil Corp., which already had a relationship with Jazz. TowerJazz and Intersil will work together to develop a new high-performance power management specialty process technology platform.
In another major deal, TowerJazz recently announced the co-development of a 700-Volt power platform to address next-generation industrial LED lighting requirements. The collaboration will combine GrandTek's 700-Volt technology capability with TowerJazz' power management process and design kits.
Defense & Aerospace
TowerJazz USA Aerospace and Defense Division Selected by General Dynamics and the U.S. Air Force for Large Die ROIC Manufacturing Program
1/6/10
TowerJazz announced its USA Aerospace and Defense Division has been awarded a contract by General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), to support the MATES (MAnufacturing TEchnology Support) program within the U.S. Air Force for large-die read-out-integrated-circuit (ROIC) production. The MATES program contract was originally awarded to General Dynamics in 2004. TowerJazz is a leading manufacturer of ROICs which are key elements in many commercial and military detectors, sensors, and imaging systems spanning air, land, sea and space. With this award, it will enhance the ability to support production requirements of increasingly complex future ROIC designs. TowerJazz has recently expanded CMOS production for ROICs used in imaging arrays in both un-cooled and cooled applications in support of increased demand spanning 0.5-micron to 0.18-micron technology nodes.
