Within 15 months of closing the merger that added Malaysia’s Sarawak facility, Germany’s X-FAB Silicon Foundries has successfully transferred four complex processes and added RF CMOS option to a new 0.18 µm process technology to its line-up. This allows X-FAB to meet rising customer demand worldwide for analog/mixed-signal technologies, said the manufacturer.

The processes transferred include two 0.6 µm processes – CX06, an analog/mixed-signal process; and XB06, a high-performance BiCMOS process. And two 0.35 µm processes – XH035, a high-performance analog/mixed-signal process with high-voltage and embedded non-volatile memory (NVM); and XL035, a low-threshold process with embedded non-volatile memory.

According to X-FAB, companies using its existing 0.6 and 0.35 µm process platforms can reuse their current design IP and maintain their current design environments, resulting in significant cost-savings. In addition, X-FAB added RF CMOS characterization to its emerging 0.18 µm technology, which includes RF transistors; varactors; single, double and triple MIM capacitors; and large Q-factor inductors. Other features expected later this year are automotive high-voltage transistors, one-time and multiple-time programmable memories (OTP / MTP), and embedded EEPROM/Flash options, said X-FAB.

According to Manfred Riemer, chief operating officer at X-FAB, “With its automotive-quality focus, our X-FAB Sarawak facility is well prepared to deliver highest-quality silicon. I am very pleased with the significant progress X-FAB has achieved in making high-performance analog/mixed-signal technologies available in Sarawak in such a short timeframe. All of these transferred technologies are fully compatible with associated X-FAB design kits, and are easily accessible by our customers.”

When combined with Sarawak, X-FAB offers a capacity of 700,000 200-mm equivalent wafers per year with production technologies ranging from 1.0 to 0.13 µm.

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