TowerJazz’s world-class “Foundry MEMS enablement” solutions integrate custom MEMS with its specialty processes to address complex wireless and consumer electronics markets.
The company is focused on a collaborative partnership model and applies its foundry experience, silicon MEMS processes and customer oriented team to enable the successful and rapid implementation of both 150mm and 200mm MEMS manufacturing, including both prototype and production.
TowerJazz continues to augment its portfolio of specialty silicon technology by adding MEMS manufacturing to its existing suite of analog and RF CMOS, high speed SiGe, and high voltage technology.
This enhances the ability of its customers to create and bring to market more highly integrated analog products. The company works with top tier established companies, as well as start-ups, to bring new technologies from idea to volume production.
The target applications and markets for TowerJazz’s MEMS capabilities are antenna tuning for mobile wireless, antenna tuning clock frequency references for electronics timing, and infrared measurement for sensor devices in imaging, industrial, instrumentation and control (power devices and ASICS to drive the MEMS sensors).
For example, in Israel, TowerJazz is mass producing MEMS sensors for the $3.5 billion inertial measurement unit (IMU) high end navigation market, including applications such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and power management controllers (ASICs). In the US, TowerJazz is volume producing innovative RF MEMS tuners specifically designed to overcome the antenna performance challenges experienced in today’s LTE smartphones, which have to support an ever growing number of operating modes and frequency bands. TowerJazz is also manufacturing MEMS-based silicon timing solutions that replace legacy quartz products.
MEMS and new process capabilities are being incorporated into more high volume applications at a very high rate. The MEMS fabless industry is actually higher (80-90% fabless) as compared to the CMOS fabless industry (50-75% fabless), which creates a very good opportunity for TowerJazz. The company expects to increase revenue in this area by more than five times in the next three to five years. TowerJazz is running MEMS programs in all of its fabs and the Newport Beach facility is focused on high volume, RF, IR sensors and on drive and control chips (companion CMOS chips).
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