austriamicrosystems' Foundry Unit Announces Availability of 0.18µm High-Voltage CMOS Process for Lead Customers


New process technology supports high integration density enabling SoC (System-on-Chip)
applications

Unterpremstaetten, Austria (October 02, 2008) - austriamicrosystems' business unit Full Service Foundry announced today the availability of its advanced 0.18µm High-Voltage CMOS process technology "H18" at the GSA Suppliers Expo & Conference in Santa Clara, CA. Jointly developed with IBM, the High-Voltage CMOS process is the 6th generation of continuously improved High-Voltage CMOS technologies developed at austriamicrosystems and is now ready to be distributed to lead customers.

The new H18 process offers high integration density enabling SoC applications (System-on-Chip) as well as best-in-class power-on resistance (Rdson) which directly results in a silicon area reduction in e.g. driver applications. Additionally, the process allows the integration of 1.8V, 5V, 20V and 50V devices on a single chip without any process modifications.

Process features such as Shottky barrier diode, high-resistive and precision poly-, single-, dual and HiK metal-insulatormetal (MIM) capacitors and up to 7 metal layers complete the state-of-the art High-Voltage CMOS process.

As only a few mask level adders on top of the CMOS base process are required to implement high-voltage capabilities, the H18 process is one of the most cost competitive 0.18µ¬m High-Voltage CMOS technologies in the market. This makes the H18 technology the ideal solution for fabless design houses and IDMs creating power management products, display drivers, sensors, capacitive actuators, printer and MEMS driver ICs for applications in the industrial, medical, communications and automotive markets, supporting robust applications even in harsh environments.

"Leveraging our leading process development know-how in High-Voltage CMOS technologies, austriamicrosystems complements IBM's expertise in advanced CMOS process technology manufacturing." states Thomas Riener, General Manager Full Service Foundry. "The joint development of the next generation High-Voltage technology node enables IBM to enter new markets and to serve their customers requirements in developing power management, MEMS interface or medical products. Achieving smallest possible die sizes and highest performance at very competitive costs makes the
new H18 process a very attractive solution for austriamicrosystems' foundry customers."

"The CMOS7HV process is a terrific addition to IBM's already strong 180nm process technology roadmap" states Regina
Darmoni, Director of IBM Foundry. "The fact that this technology is now ready for lead client designs is a testament to the
commitment of both IBM and austriamicrosystems to jointly create a best-in-class 180nm High-Voltage CMOS technology
to benefit both of our customers."

About austriamicrosystems

austriamicrosystems' business unit Full Service Foundry has successfully positioned itself in the analog/mixed-signal
foundry market offering well-established RF CMOS, High-Voltage CMOS, BiCMOS and SiGe-BiCMOS processes. With
superior support during the design phase, high-end tools and experienced engineers, austriamicrosystems succeeds to be
an attractive analog foundry partner especially for fabless design houses.
austriamicrosystems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs, combining more than 25
years of analog design capabilities and system know-how with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing and test facilities.
austriamicrosystems leverages its expertise in low power and high accuracy to provide industry-leading customized and
standard analog products. Operating worldwide with more than 1,000 employees, austriamicrosystems focuses on the
areas of power management, sensors & sensor interfaces, portable audio and car access in its markets Communications,
Industry & Medical and Automotive, complemented by its Full Service Foundry activities. austriamicrosystems is listed on
the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker symbol: AMS). For more information, please visit the web site at
www.austriamicrosystems.com.

About IBM

For more information about semiconductors, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/chips.

For further information

Press Contact

austriamicrosystems AG

Ulrike Anderwald

Marketing Communications Manager

Tel: +43 (0) 3136 500 5856

Fax: +43 (0) 3136 500 5420

press@austriamicrosystems.com

www.austriamicrosystems.com

Technical Contact

austriamicrosystems AG

Andreas Wild

Product Marketing Manager Full Service Foundry

Tel: +43 (0) 3136 500 4400

Fax: +43 (0) 3136 500 5420

andreas.wild@austriamicrosystems.com

www.austriamicrosystems.com

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