Ziptronix Licenses ZiBondto IO Semiconductor for RF Applications
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 29, 2014 -- Ziptronix Inc., a provider of patented, low-temperature direct bonding technology for 3D integration, today announced a limited exclusive patent licensing agreement with IO Semiconductor (IOsemi) for application of its ZiBondtechnology for use in RF front-end devices for consumer mobile products. The agreement also marks a new high-volume application market for Ziptronix's proprietary ZiBond technology.
"This license agreement with IOsemi is an exciting win for us because it extends our reach into rapidly growing mobile markets by opening up a new high-volume application space for us," noted Dan Donabedian, CEO and president of Ziptronix. "It also demonstrates the value of licensing established technologies like ZiBond, which in this case enables IOsemi to deliver innovative RF front-end solutions with improved performance and lower cost."
IOsemi's ZEROcap CMOS technology is based on a mature 0.18µm CMOS process. It provides best-in-class RF performance with lower insertion loss and better linearity than other available technologies. This performance is achieved while delivering smaller footprints and lower cost than competitive devices. Implementing ZiBond further enables the low-cost manufacture of RF switches using standard CMOS processes. Because the bond itself is as strong as or stronger than the bulk material, it stands up better to post-bond processes than other bonding technologies.
"Licensing ZiBond for use in RF front-end applications adds a highly manufacturable, high-volume bond to our technology arsenal," said Mark Drucker, CEO of IO Semiconductor. "It provides a key enabling technology that has allowed IOsemi to deliver better-performing, lower-cost RF solutions than our competitors. We have implemented this process with a top-tier manufacturing partner and have achieved world-class yields and reliability."
Ziptronix's proprietary ZiBond process allows for the formation of low-temperature, direct, nonadhesive wafer-to-wafer and die-to-wafer bonds in a wide variety of semiconductor materials by using a very thin layer of materials such as silicon oxide or nitride to facilitate direct bonding. Already established in volume production for back-side illumination (BSI) image sensors, the license agreement with IOsemi takes ZiBond into high-volume manufacturing for RF front-end devices as well, further proving its value to the consumer mobile market.
About Ziptronix
A pioneer in the development of low-temperature direct bond technology, Ziptronix offers patented technology for wafer- or die-level bonding. Its ZiBond® Direct Bonding and DBI® Hybrid Bonding technologies deliver the industry's most scalable, manufacturable and lowest total cost-of-ownership solutions for 3D stacking. The company's intellectual property has been licensed for a variety of semiconductor applications including BSI sensors, RF front ends, pico-projectors, memories and 3D integrated circuits. Founded in 2000 as a venture-backed spinoff of RTI International, the company has been issued more than 40 U.S. patents and more than 35 international patents, with more than 50 U.S. and international patent applications pending. www.ziptronix.com.
About IO Semiconductor
IO Semiconductor (IOsemi) was incorporated in 2008 by a team of semiconductor veterans with deep and broad experience in semiconductor processing and RF chip design. In November 2012, IO Semiconductor was acquired by The Silanna Group Pty Ltd., with headquarters in Brisbane, Australia. IOsemi is rapidly establishing a leadership position in the RF switch market based on its proprietary ZEROcap CMOS technology.
www.iosemi.com.
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