Jazz’s SBC35 catches SWID fancy

BEIJING, CHINA: The 0.35-micron SiGe BiCMOS process (SBC35) and models made by Tower Group firmJazz Semiconductor have been picked up by fabless IC design major Southwest Integrated Circuit Design (SWID).

SWID is believed to be deploying the SBC35 process and models in the development of its satellite tuner LW10039. SWIDs’ utilization of Jazz's SBC35 process that boasts of high performance diodes is expected to help in lower leakage currents and higher breakdown voltage reducing power consumption and increasing tuning range for much better VCOs, said a report.

Elaborating on the functionalities of the SBC35, industry experts said that it includes high quality factor variable capacitors which are a key component in complex RF designs.

Meanwhile, the LW10039, which is a fully integrated RF tuner for DVB-S digital satellite receiver systems, incorporates wide band, low noise PLL frequency synthesizer that provides LO signals. The RF tuner also has LNA, RFVGA, I/Q mixer, LPF, VGC and an IF output amplifier - all integrated in the same 28 pin QFP chip, it added.

Lin Fan, president of SWID, has lauded Jazz's process, models and tool kits saying that they are by far the best in the industry for RF IC designs.

He added: “By utilizing these design enablement capabilities, we were able to reduce our design cycle time by five months."

The deal is seen by the industry as providing SWID with a platform to launch itself into a prominent space in the TV tuner supplier segment in China.