MagnaChip and GMT announce volume ramp of GMT's power management IC for LCD TV

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA & CUPERTINO, USA: MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp., a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, and GMT (Global Mixed-mode Technology), a leading fabless provider of power solutions for mobile phone and PC applications, announced that MagnaChip has ramped to mass production GMT's power management IC (PMIC) products utilizing 0.35um BCD (Bipolar CMOS-DMOS) process technology.

MagnaChip and GMT have been engaged in the development of PMIC and LED Driver IC products using 0.35um 65V BCD process technology at MagnaChip's manufacturing facility located in Cheongju, South Korea. MagnaChip has successfully completed the final qualification of PMIC products which have ramped to high-volume production, while the LED driver IC products are currently under development.

The PMIC manages multiple power levels for LCD TV and monitor applications. GMT's PMIC incorporates a high-performance linear regulator, low-power charge-pump regulators, a high current operational amplifier and a logic-controlled gate-on pulse modulator to control the positive charge-pump output sequence and waveform. MagnaChip is uniquely positioned as a foundry provider to be able to offer the deep trench isolation technology for PMIC applications.

In addition to the PMIC, GMT's LED Driver IC has the ability to drive up to 12 parallel strings of LEDs at a maximum of 120mA of current. It also provides a precision current balance function for each LED string. Additionally, the LED string voltages can be up to a maximum of 65V. This makes it very suitable to be used in main stream (40 inch ~ 55 inch) LED TV back light applications.

Namkyu Park, VP of MagnaChip's Foundry Marketing, commented: "We are very pleased to announce MagnaChip's production ramp of GMT's PMIC products using our 0.35um BCD process technology. The continued introduction of these robust PMIC solutions is a direct result of the combined expertise of MagnaChip's manufacturing services and GMT's design engineering. We will continue to develop highly differentiated and cost-effective BCD technology solutions to meet the increasing application specific needs of our foundry customers."