Ridgetop Group to Provide High Resolution ADC IP to ON Semiconductor

TUCSON, Ariz. -- July 15, 2014 -- Ridgetop Group Inc. today announced that it has agreed to design and implement two high resolution analog-to-digital data converters (ADCs) for ON Semiconductor (ONNN). These ADC intellectual property (IP) blocks will be incorporated into a specially designed CMOS focal plane array (FPA) that ON Semiconductor is developing, including one for the U.S. Staring Technology for Enhanced Linear Line-of-sight Angular Recognition (STELLAR) program. This work was funded in part by the Air Force Research Laboratory under contract number FA8650-12-3-5504.

Both ADCs will operate at 30 megasamples per second (30 MS/s). One ADC will have a resolution of 14 bits and the other will have a resolution of 16 bits and be radiation-hardened. The STELLAR CMOS FPA will be fabricated using ON Semiconductor’s ONC18 180 nm CMOS image sensor process. In addition to the STELLAR program, ON Semiconductor will target other space and military applications for its CMOS FPAs, as well as other applications requiring radiation tolerance, such as nuclear power plants.

“We are very pleased that ON Semiconductor has selected Ridgetop Group, with our extensive experience in creating complex circuitry for harsh environments, to supply it with advanced ADCs to support critical program needs. These challenging new ADCs, built on the foundation of our InstaCell™ library of analog and mixed-signal IP, will give ON Semiconductor the high performance it requires while meeting the demands of space-based operation for the STELLAR program,” said Andrew Levy, Ridgetop Group’s Vice President of Business Development.

“ON Semiconductor chose Ridgetop Group as our development partner for these ADCs because of Ridgetop’s expertise in analog and mixed-signal design and their track record of success in creating advanced data converters,” said Thad Smith, Business Manager for ON Semi’s Image Sensor Business Unit. “We have been especially impressed with their ability to design to stringent performance requirements while also meeting radiation-hardening specifications. We are very happy to have Ridgetop as part of our team.”

About ON Semiconductor

ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN) is driving energy efficient innovations, empowering customers to reduce global energy use. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of energy efficient power and signal management, logic, discrete and custom solutions to help design engineers solve their unique design challenges in automotive, communications, computing, consumer, industrial, LED lighting, medical, military/aerospace and power supply applications. ON Semiconductor operates a responsive, reliable, world-class supply chain and quality program, and a network of manufacturing facilities, sales offices and design centers in key markets throughout North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific regions. For more information, visit http://www.onsemi.com.

About Ridgetop Group

Ridgetop is a fast-growing technology firm based in Tucson, Arizona. The firm was established to provide advanced tools and design services that improve the reliability and robustness of complex systems used in harsh environments. Over the past 10 years, Ridgetop’s prior assignments have included the design of systems and semiconductors used in space satellites, undersea drilling operations, aerospace systems, and vehicles. Ridgetop maintains AS9100C and ISO9001:2008 Quality Management certifications, and is rated “1A” by the U.S. Defense Microelectronics Activity under the Trusted Supplier program. For more information, please visit http://www.RidgetopGroup.com or call +1 520.742.3300.