Fully Depleted Analogue
Swiss analogue IC producer EM Microelectronic says it is ready to start producing fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD SOI) ICs. EM believes that its ICs are the first FD SOIs operating at a guaranteed voltage lower than 0.5V over the whole voltage and temperature range."The chip being produced is a sophisticated circuit to be used in the watch industry, containing more than 50% of analogue cells," reports Mougahed Darwish, president of the management board of EM Microelectronic. "The analogue portion of the circuit is operating at 0.5V, while the digital part works even down to 0.35V,"EM Microelectronic is developing its own 0.5micron FD SOI process with properties including an ultra-low threshold voltage down to 0.4V and high temperature operation up to 225C. The properties of this process include dual gates, three metal layers, silicide and elevated source and drain with a thin silicon film thickness of 40nm.Commercial use for the FD SOI technology is targeted at applications requiring either ultra-low-voltage operation or high performance at extremely high temperature. EM is also pursuing development of integrating EEPROM memory cells in the process. The company plans to offer FD SOI foundry services at its headquarters site.
- CDT buys light-emitting dendrimer business
Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) has bought UK-based Opsys' business related to the intellectual property (IP), commercialisation and technology development of organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays.CDT receives ownership of all rights to Opsys' dendrimer OLED technology and assumes management of the commercial and technical development of Opsys' business. More than 25 highly-skilled scientists from Opsys have been added to CDT's staff.Financial terms of the agreement include an immediate payment in cash and deferred payment in CDT shares. Opsys' US business is not part of the agreement and retains privileged rights to use dendrimers and other technologies developed by Opsys.Toppan Printing of Japan - an investor in Opsys - will invest in CDT as a major corporate shareholder and partner. Toppan will also convert its existing shareholding in Opsys into an equivalent holding in CDT. The joint development work begun with Opsys will be transferred to CDT.CDT and Opsys have been developing organic display technology for electronic displays and lighting applications. Both companies were founded on fundamental research undertaken at UK universities - CDT in 1992 from the University of Cambridge and Opsys in 1997 from the University of Oxford.
