28 January 2011

CMP chooses TriQuint as GaAs foundry services partner

Circuits Multi-Projects (CMP) of Grenoble, France, a broker in ICs and MEMS technology for prototyping and low-volume production, has chosen the TQP15 process of RF front-end component maker and foundry services provider TriQuint Semiconductor Inc of Hillsboro, OR, USA for its gallium arsenide foundry process technology offering for universities and small company customers.

Since 1981, independent non-profit organization CMP has helped more than 1000 organizations from 70 countries to access affordable commercial foundries by consolidating their designs onto a single prototype mini-tile. CMP works with several foundry vendors supporting a range of technologies and has chosen TriQuint for its GaAs processes. The broker offers its customers experience with the entire design, layout, verification, and tapeout process, as well as export guidance.

“CMP’s customers will have access to TriQuint’s new mmWave [millimeter-wave] foundry process, TQP15, along with the design kits and other foundry support services,” says Glen Riley, VP, TriQuint Semiconductor Commercial Foundry Services. “This enables a large number of university students to cost-effectively evaluate their designs in actual GaAs chips and helps TriQuint reach a new generation of RF designers,” he adds.

“CMP is pleased to be working with the industry’s leading gallium arsenide foundry and introduce GaAs design and fabrication to the next generation of electrical engineers,” says CMP director Bernard Courtois. “TriQuint offers comprehensive support services ... This program will bring GaAs technology to a whole new audience.”

Manufactured in TriQuint’s high volume GaAs fabrication facility in Hillsboro, TQP15 is the latest offering in TriQuint’s well-established pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) process portfolio. TQP15 combines high power density with low noise and supports designs operating up to 80GHz. It also uses optical lithography to reduce cost compared with traditional electron-beam-based solutions.

CMP will exhibit at next week’s DesignCon 2011 in Santa Clara, CA, USA (31 January – 3 February).

Tags: TriQuint GaAs foundry

Visit: www.triquint.com

Visit: http://cmp.imag.fr