TowerJazz and Silicon Works announce PMIC with Embedded LED driver IC

MIGDAL HAEMEK, ISRAEL & DAEJEON, KOREA: TowerJazz and Silicon Works Co Ltd. a leading Korean fabless company, announced a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) with an embedded LED driver IC was developed utilizing TowerJazz's 0.18um BCD process.

TowerJazz's unique 0.18um BCD process variant with isolated drain fills a void in the current foundry BCD market space and opens the door for fabless/fablite companies to capture markets not previously available.

The isolation scheme allowed Silicon Works to implement an LED driver IC, traditional PMIC and negative charge pump in one chip to form a one chip solution. This disruptive approach allows Silicon Works to improve performance while providing PCB board space and pricing reductions.

TowerJazz is one of the very few foundries offering the technology which enables this one chip solution and serves as a distinct advantage. The close collaboration during development, where TowerJazz supported new devices and tailored other features to meet Silicon Works' requirements, enabled the improvement of product characteristics.

The strong application knowledge of Silicon Works benefitted TowerJazz as well by enforcing device options that are optimized to next generation PMIC applications. Together, the solution provides superior product efficiency and a cost benefit as a one chip solution. The product will be in large volume production by year end.

TowerJazz's unique 0.18um BCD process can fully isolate drain and source from the substrate providing the benefits of expensive SOI technology while using more cost-effective standard bulk silicon substrates. This unique isolation technique allows integration of display drivers requiring positive and negative supply together with digital control, precision analog and power management functions creating highly integrated PMICs.

TowerJazz's suite of design enablement support that includes analog-accurate models, NVM IP, ESD support and easy-to-use design kits help bring products to market quickly with a simplified design flow and first-time silicon success.

DK Han, CEO of SiWorks said: "Our PMIC product using TowerJazz's 0.18um BCD process is efficient in terms of several aspects. Most importantly, TowerJazz's BCD deep platform made a significant contribution to reducing the cost by developing a one chip solution. This is a very competitive advantage and we expect production will ramp significantly in the coming years, targeting millions of units per month if the market becomes mature."

Michael Song, VP of sales and president of TowerJazz Korea said: "We are very pleased to initiate mass production with Silicon Works, the leading fabless company in Korea for PMIC application. Along with LED driver IC production for TV and laptops, this PMIC for laptops successfully started production within a short period of development time. We look forward to continually working with Silicon Works for upcoming projects as a strategic partner while building a successful roadmap together."