SiTime partners with Jazz Semiconductor for MEMS Manufacturing
SiTime Corporation, and Jazz Semiconductor announced a partnership to bring SiTime's MEMS First silicon mechanical oscillator products to market at Jazz Semiconductor's 200mm wafer foundry. The MEMS First products are designed to replace traditional quartz oscillators and can be fabricated using manufacturing techniques and equipment that exist in the silicon semiconductor industry today. This capability will allow industrial scaling of MEMS in a foundry environment.
"Jazz is well-suited to be our manufacturing partner as it is an established specialty foundry that offers the technology and customer focus that can help us realize our vision of beginning to transform the timing industry through MEMS solutions," said Kurt Petersen, CEO and co-founder of SiTime Corporation. "In addition, their impressive technical expertise in production silicon processes helps assure that SiTime will have the tools to create innovative products."
SiTime is well-positioned to enter the timing markets with its MEMS First quartz oscillator replacement devices. Next generation, more integrated solutions will include MEMS oscillator devices and VLSI semiconductor control functions manufactured on the same silicon wafer. This integration will couple the functionality of quartz timing crystals with CMOS or BiCMOS circuitry to enable new product capabilities. For example, the combination of SiTime's MEMS First process with Jazz Semiconductor's 0.18 platform, which includes both RF CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS options, could benefit wireless transceiver design in standards such as 802.11, Bluetooth and others.
"Jazz's blend of business and technical competency for MEMS and IC fabrication makes it a strong partner for us," said Markus Lutz, COO and initial inventor of the MEMS First technology. "Furthermore, they have a motivated, customer service oriented team that feels like an extension of the SiTime team."
"This partnership combines SiTime's MEMS design heritage with our specialty wafer foundry manufacturing enabling new capabilities and high performance," said David Howard, director of new product technology for Jazz Semiconductor. "Our two teams are complementary and in a short period of time have achieved significant results."
