Certus Semiconductor Joins TSMC IP Alliance Program to Enhance Custom I/O and ESD Solutions

Santa Clara, CA  –  April 23, 2025 – Certus Semiconductor, a leading provider of custom I/O and ESD Solutions to the semiconductor industry, is announcing an official partnership to join the TSMC Intellectual Property (IP) Alliance program, a key element of the TSMC Open Innovation Platform® (OIP).

Certus Semiconductor, a leading provider of custom I/O and ESD solutions, specializes in high-performance ESD solutions for many RF and high-speed interfaces, including WiFi, Cellular, HDMI, LVDS, USB, XAUI, and up to 256Gb SerDes. Certus offers flexible multi-voltage GPIO and ODIO solutions supporting diverse protocols alongside high-voltage structures (10V, 20V+) on low-voltage CMOS for advanced applications. Certus optimizes its I/O Libraries for automotive, aerospace, and radiation environments.

As a member of the TSMC IP Alliance, Certus delivers production-proven IP that ensures seamless integration with TSMC process nodes, ranging from 180nm to 12nm. The solutions include:

•  Multi-protocol and multi-voltage I/O Libraries
•  GPIOs that support numerous standards with extended specifications
•  Specialized high-speed die-to-die interface solutions
•  High-voltage, extreme high-voltage (>10V) ESD in 65nm and below

"For 16 years, Certus has worked indirectly with TSMC to provide the best I/O and ESD solutions to our customers," said Stephen Fairbanks, CEO and CTO of Certus Semiconductor, "We are excited to officially partner with TSMC and provide our solutions to their entire OIP ecosystem."

“Adding Certus Semiconductor’s IP solutions to the OIP ecosystem will provide our mutual customers with a more comprehensive, proven IP portfolio optimized for our industry-leading process technologies,” said Lipen Yuan, Senior Director of Advanced Technology Business Development at TSMC. “We look forward to collaborating with our OIP partners like Certus Semiconductor to enhance design reliability and accelerate product innovations through our combined expertise.”

Certus Semiconductor IP solutions prioritize robustness, noise reduction, distortion control, low capacitance, and enhanced ESD performance. Certus has multiple solutions that have met automotive-grade requirements and radiation-hardened IP testing in nodes from 180nm to 16/12nm. It looks forward to addressing industry needs in TSMC's advanced processes.

Jeff Galloway, Co-Founder and CTO of Silicon Creations, said: "Certus Semiconductor's industry-leading expertise and high-speed ESD protection IP have been essential to Silicon Creations' development of robust, high-performance SERDES solutions." He added that "their exceptional technical knowledge and responsive support enable them to deliver SERDES designs that meet stringent performance specifications while benefiting from Certus's advanced ESD protection" and that "Certus is a valued partner in addressing the critical ESD requirements of their customers."

About Certus Semiconductor

Certus Semiconductor is a leading provider of custom I/O and ESD solutions. With a history of building entire foundation I/O Libraries, their solutions include high-performance ESD designs for RF, Cellular, WiFi, HDMI, LVDS, USB, and up to 256Gb SerDes applications. Certus's robust, low-capacitance architectures ensure superior signal integrity and reliability. Certus offers flexible multi-voltage GPIO and ODIO solutions supporting diverse protocols. Examples include single I/O designs capable of I2C/I3C/SPI 0.9 to 5V applications or LVCMOS/RGMII/eMMC/HSTL/SSTL combo I/O's. Unique to Certus are high-voltage structures (10V, 20V+) on low-voltage CMOS for advanced RF, MEM's and Analog applications. Certus has extensive experience tailoring libraries for harsh environments, including automotive, industrial, and aerospace applications, addressing extreme temperature variation, EOS/system ESD, and radiation. Their IP libraries span processes from 180nm to 12nm in TSMC.