TSMC 0.18-Micron High-Voltage Technology Goes to Volume Production

- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM), today announced volume production availability of the industry’s first 40-volt, 0.18-micron, high voltage (HV) technology. The technology is a breakthrough that will allow designers to produce single-chip TFT LCD drivers for portable applications, thereby reducing chip count, saving real estate and power, while providing the imaging performance necessary for advanced portable displays.

Using TSMC’s industry leading 0.18-micron process technology, designers can save chip count by combining a standard LCD source driver and gate driver chip with a sophisticated power management IC for extended battery life on TFT displays. At the other end of the spectrum, designers can create a highly integrated system-on-chip design, such as a graphics controller and integrated TFT or CSTN driver for high-end VGA displays supporting the leading cell phone features.

Available in 1.8-volt, 5-volt and 40-volt triple gate oxides, the process features superior isolation scheme that allows highly reliable integration of low-voltage and high-voltage circuitry for the lifetime of the device, with minimal noise and excellent immunity to latch-up. “The design community has been anxiously awaiting the delivery of a 40-volt, low-power 0.18-micron process for volume production,” said Genda Hu, vice president of marketing for TSMC. “This development enables a whole new class of display drivers.”

The new process is based on, and fully compatible with, TSMC’s industry-leading 0.18-micron, low power process that maximizes power conservation. The process supports all logic and analog IP and libraries that are proven in TSMC’s 0.18-micron low-power process, thereby providing not just a power and area savings, but a design budget savings as well. To enhance optimization of display quality for individual hand-held systems, TSMC is also developing special intellectual property (IP) elements enabling one-time programmability (OTP) and multiple-time programmability (MTP). These IP’s are expected to be available in 2005 without additional process steps.

The TSMC 0.18-micron HV technology is also available on TSMC’s CyberShuttle prototyping service for quick and inexpensive verification and engineering samples. Backend services, including gold bumping, are offered through TSMC as well.         
        
About TSMC        
        
TSMC is the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, providing the industry's leading process technology and the foundry industry's largest portfolio of process-proven library, IP, design tools and reference flows. The company operates two advanced 300mm wafer fabs, five eight-inch fabs and one six-inch wafer fab. TSMC also has substantial capacity commitments at its wholly-owned subsidiary, WaferTech and TSMC (Shanghai), and its joint venture fab, SSMC. In early 2001, TSMC became the first IC manufacturer to announce a 90-nm technology alignment program with its customers. TSMC's corporate headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan. For more information about TSMC please see http://www.tsmc.com.