Sarnoff Europe becomes Sofics, announces system-Level ESD solutions

GISTEL, BELGIUM: Sarnoff Europe announced that it is changing its corporate name to Sofics (www.sofics.com), and is introducing a new line of design solutions for high-voltage ICs that provide on-chip protection against damage from system-level electrostatic discharge (ESD).

Sofics, the new company name, stands for “Solutions for ICs.”

“The name Sofics expresses our commitment to being the industry’s primary source of IC solutions,” said Koen Verhaege, executive director. “The product line we are introducing today is just one example of this commitment. We will also continue to provide our TakeCharge® line of solutions for chip-level protection.”

Sofics developed its new product in response to increasing market demand for on-chip system-level ESD protection within a state-of-the-art silicon footprint, according to Benjamin Van Camp, director of engineering. Its target applications are high voltage ICs for consumer products such as display drivers, timing controllers, and battery managers.

“We can handle very high system-level ESD and latch-up requirements, such as IEC-61000-4-2,” said Van Camp. “Our new universal power clamp was first proven in TSMC 0.35um HV CMOS and is now being ported to various process technologies.”

Sofics on-chip system-level ESD also delivers significant cost reductions at the system level by eliminating the need for components dedicated to ESD protection. It can also reduce the cost of the IC itself.

Sofics offers ESD solutions for processes of all generations, as well as consultancy services based on its extensive knowledge of on-chip ESD solutions for both device and system-level threats.

Sofics solutions for ICs portfolios are licensed world-wide to both major and smaller companies, including Toshiba, Fujitsu, Panasonic, NJR, Altera, PMC-Sierra, Inphi, Epson, OKI, Renesas, Ricoh, Sony, Infineon, AMIS, Nanotech, Tower, ON, RedMere, Gennum, Actel, CamSemi, THine, and Cissoid.