Product category: Analogue and Mixed Signal ICs
News Release from: Freescale Semiconductor | Subject: Smartmos8 MV
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 8 April 2003
MV mixed-signal process cuts die area up to 50%
The Smartmos8 medium voltage (MV) process allows power, analogue and digital logic functions to be manufactured on a single chip in less space than previous generations.
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The Smartmos8 medium voltage (MV) process allows power, analogue and digital logic functions to be manufactured on a single chip in less space than previous generations. This integration helps designers of automotive systems, industrial controls and consumer electronics simplify system design, lower system costs and improve reliability. Smartmos8 MV combines voltage capability up to 90V, along with power and analogue functions while leaving room to build the logic processor onto the same die - an industry first.
Motorola internal benchmarking tests have shown a reduction in system size by more than 50%.
Smartmos is Motorola's name for smart power technology, the backbone of mixed-signal analogue integrated circuits.
Smartmos products act as the interface between the clean but delicate digital environment of leading-edge microprocessors and the external world.
For years, Motorola's Smartmos technologies have been the basis of numerous mixed-signal products.
Manufacturers often use Smartmos products in conjunction with a Motorola microprocessor or microcontroller.
Smartmos products are an integral part of wireless devices, automobile electronics and computer peripherals.
In cellphones, Smartmos products regulate power consumption, amplify audio signals, and supply power to colour screens.
In ink inkjet printers, they help drive the motors and fire the nozzles for ink delivery.
In automobiles, they help control engine and braking systems, airbag deployments and seat positioning.
"As designers integrate computing power into more household and industrial devices, the need for Smartmos technology continues to grow", said Hak Yam Tsoi, Director, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector Smartmos Technology Centre.
"Smartmos8 MV is the technology for a whole array of products designed to help lower costs and improve system reliability".
Shrinking the size of Smartmos technologies requires a different approach than traditional CMOS processes.
Engineers have driven the size reductions in CMOS primarily with advances in lithography and an accompanying reduction in operating voltages.
The process is not as direct in Smartmos technologies because the voltage requirements have not decreased - in fact, they have often increased.
Thus, getting high voltage performance and high-density logic onto the same device in a cost-effective manner requires an engineering breakthrough.
Motorola created the breakthrough by using a special isolation scheme - a physical deep trench barrier - to separate devices on the chip.
The barrier effectively isolates sensitive logic blocks from the high voltages required for regulating motors or adjusting solenoid coils.
Key features of the technology include: 0.25 micron minimum feature size; power and analogue devices capable of supporting 90V; both logic and high-voltage analogue blocks reduced by 50% compared with previous generation; reduction of injected current by a factor of one billion within a short distance; a wide array of active and passive analogue devices at multiple voltage levels for consumer, automotive and industrial applications; and increased power device performance by lowering on-resistance.
Motorola is designing a variety of products using Smartmos 8 MV for applications ranging from automotive safety enhancements to telecommunications.
The first products are expected to be available in 2004.
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