TowerJazz announces creation and accreditation of Jazz Semiconductor Trusted Foundry

NEWPORT BEACH, USA: Jazz Semiconductor Inc., a fully owned US subsidiary of Tower Semiconductor Ltd, has announced the accreditation for trusted status of Jazz Semiconductor Trusted Foundry (JSTF), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jazz Semiconductor Inc.

JSTF has been accredited as a Category 1A Trusted Supplier by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) as a provider of trusted semiconductors in critical defense applications. JSTF joins a small list of companies accredited by the DoD Trusted Foundry Program, established to ensure the integrity of the people and processes used to deliver national security critical microelectronic components, and administered by the DoD's Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA).

The creation and accreditation of JSTF will help broaden existing business relationships previously disclosed with major defense contractors such as Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, DRS, Alcatel-Lucent, and L-3 Communications.

TowerJazz CEO, Russell Ellwanger, stated: "TowerJazz has an intrinsic culture of community service at all of our sites, ranging from a focus on male/female employment and management ratio equality to minority population integration into the work force, and educational and vocational development of populations that otherwise have limited exposure to opportunities. In the United States there was no 'pure play' trusted foundry capability available. Our aerospace and defense customers asked that we would go this route to enable them greater freedom to serve their great country's needs; a country that stands as a banner for democratic process throughout the world.

"Primarily for this purpose, we went beyond our initial commitment to the US State Department to continue support of our ITAR customers and engaged in rounds of discussion with the US Department of Defense toward participation in the Trusted program in our Newport Beach facility. And, as in all activities where one serves purposes of great principle, it is also good business."

By achieving Trusted status, TowerJazz continues to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to its aerospace and defense customers as well as with capacity expansion and new technologies at its US facility with leadership in areas such as high-speed SiGe, Readout Integrated Circuits (ROICs), imaging, and MEMS.

"Specific recent activities to further support our customers include a long-term lease extension and implementation of new technology focused on the aerospace and defense market, including CMOS image sensors and ROICs for IR sensors," stated Mike Scott, director - TowerJazz Aerospace and Defense Business Unit.

"Jazz Semiconductor Trusted Foundry is proud to join the DoD Trusted Foundry Program to enable trusted access to a broad range of on-shore technologies and manufacturing capabilities," said Scott Jordan, president, JSTF. "The accreditation process adds trust to the existing quality and security systems, improving our level of service to our military and defense customers."