Using Applied Wave Research’s (AWR) Analog Office, a software design tool for analog and RFICs, Peregrine Semiconductor has developed a process design kit (PDK) for its UltraCMOS silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) process. The delivery of the UltraCMOS process design kit is the first step in a long-term collaboration between the two companies to deliver complete RFIC design solutions for specialized high-frequency RF applications. Analog Office design software and the UltraCMOS PDK will help design engineers significantly shorten IC development cycles, accelerate tape-out to Peregrine's process, and speed wireless products to market, according to the partners.

“The open Analog Office RFIC design platform and the UltraCMOS Process Design Kit coupled with Peregrine’s semiconductor manufacturing leadership will result in a top quality design solution that will greatly benefit not only the customers of both companies, but the high-frequency design community as a whole," said Sarkis Narkizian, vice president of RFIC business development at AWR.

John Sung, director of CAD engineering at Peregrine, said,  “The PDK includes a complete set of validated schematic symbols, simulation models, and fully parameterized layout cells that are characterized to match the UltraCMOS process performance.”

The newest AWR-based PDK is based on the GA and GC variants of Peregrine’s UltraCMOS process, which enables the combination of high-performance RF, mixed-signal, passive elements, nonvolatile memory, and digital functions on a single device without blocking capacitors. By using a sapphire substrate, which is a near-perfect insulator, UltraCMOS wafers enjoy low defect density for simpler construction; dielectrically isolated transistors for excellent power handling and multiple thresholds; and inherent CMOS logic levels. UltraCMOS delivers the fundamental reliability, cost-effectiveness, high yields, scalability, and monolithic integration of standard CMOS, while achieving peak RF performance traditionally expected from the more exotic process technologies.