AMI Semiconductor and IMEC Enter Into Development Collaboration for Next Generation Smart Power Technologies

  
    
  
  
    
      AMI Semiconductor (NASDAQ:AMIS), a leading designer and manufacturer of 
      state-of-the-art mixed-signal and digital products for the automotive, 
      medical, industrial, aerospace, and high-voltage communication markets, 
      has entered into a new two-year collaboration program with IMEC - 
      Europe's leading independent research center in the field of 
      nanoelectronics – to develop AMI Semiconductor’s 
      future Smart Power Technologies.
    
    
      Under the terms of the agreement, AMIS will develop critical and novel 
      Smart Power processes and devices in IMEC's advanced 200mm facilities, 
      and use IMEC’s know-how and experience in 
      deep submicron process technology. A team of on-site AMIS engineers will 
      jointly work with IMEC engineers in the IMEC premises in Leuven, 
      Belgium, in close collaboration with the AMIS Smart Power team in 
      Oudenaarde, Belgium.
    
    
      Christine King, CEO of AMIS, states that IMEC is the right partner to 
      support their future Smart Power development programs: “This 
      collaborative agreement will allow us to develop our next generation I4T 
      Smart Power Technology platform while protecting our differentiating and 
      critical IP. IMEC is the ideal collaborative partner because of its 
      advanced infrastructure, its outstanding engineering competences, and 
      its business model. Furthermore, being close to our Smart Power team in 
      Oudenaarde is an important asset.”
    
    
      AMIS has collaborated with IMEC on a number of developments during the 
      last twenty years. The new agreement takes the relationship between the 
      two companies to a new level by moving, for the first time, part of the 
      AMIS advanced technology R&D into IMEC's own premises. I4T will be the 
      fourth generation of the AMIS Smart Power Technology platform. This 
      platform allows the integration of high voltage and power functions with 
      dense logic, processors and memories into a single device. The I4T 
      platform will enable complex system-on-chip (SoC) Smart Power systems 
      for next generation automotive, power regulation, and communications 
      applications.
    
    
      Gilbert Declerck, the IMEC CEO, states: “IMEC 
      is happy to strengthen, with this cooperation agreement, the activities 
      of AMIS in the Flemish region of Belgium. The new project with AMIS fits 
      IMEC's CMORE program, targeted at R&D for new fabrication processes and 
      device technologies focusing on performance and new functions, rather 
      than further scaling of transistors.”
    
    
      CMORE makes use of IMEC's state-of-the-art 200mm processing facility 
      with a 130/90nm CMOS platform technology. As part of CMORE program IMEC 
      is developing, amongst other projects, SiGe-based integrated MEMS 
      processes and devices, thin film technology for integrated passive 
      components and submicron SOI- (silicon on insulator-) based photonic 
      devices.
    
    
      About AMI Semiconductor
    
    
      AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) is a leader in the design and manufacture of 
      silicon solutions for the real world. As a widely recognized innovator 
      in state-of-the-art mixed-signal and digital products, AMIS is committed 
      to providing customers in the automotive, medical, industrial, mil/aero, 
      and HV communication markets with the optimal value, quickest 
      time-to-market semiconductor solutions. AMI Semiconductor operates 
      globally with headquarters in Pocatello, Idaho, European corporate 
      offices in Oudenaarde, Belgium, and a network of sales and design 
      centers located in the key markets of the North America, Europe and the 
      Asia Pacific region. For more information, please visit the AMIS Web 
      site at www.amis.com.
    
    
      About IMEC
    
    
      IMEC is a world-leading independent research center in nanoelectronics 
      and nanotechnology. Its research focuses on the next generations of 
      chips and systems, and on the enabling technologies for ambient 
      intelligence. IMEC’s research bridges the gap 
      between fundamental research at universities and technology development 
      in industry. Its unique balance of processing and system know-how, 
      intellectual property portfolio, state-of-the-art infrastructure and its 
      strong network of companies, universities and research institutes 
      worldwide position IMEC as a key partner for shaping technologies for 
      future systems.