DRS and Cypress reach agreement to manufacture uncooled detectors

USA: DRS Technologies Inc., a Finmeccanica company, and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. announced that DRS will transfer its state-of-the-art Microbolometer technology for uncooled infrared detectors to Cypress for high-volume manufacturing.

The proprietary production process, developed by the Network and Imaging Systems (NIS) division of DRS Technologies, will be transferred to Cypress’s 65nm Class 10 8-inch wafer fabrication facility in Bloomington, Minnesota. The exclusive agreement will allow DRS Technologies to continue to improve sensor production by taking advantage of Cypress’s advanced manufacturing for significantly reduced wafer costs.

The agreement will leverage Cypress’s advanced process technology and transfer expertise along with its Trusted Fab accreditation and quality certifications for TS16949 and ISO14001. DRS and Cypress expect to have qualified product by early 2014.

Cypress manufactures high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions for a variety of markets, proving an ideal partner for DRS Technologies, a leader in infrared solutions for military and commercial applications.

“The partnership with Cypress will allow us to better meet the growing demands of the thermal imaging market,” said NIS president Mike Sarrica. “With our advanced, proprietary microbolometer production process and Cypress’s proven technology and manufacturing expertise, we can achieve the high-volume, high yield and low-cost capabilities that have become requirements of both the commercial and military markets.”

“This partnership validates Cypress’s commitment to high-quality, low-cost manufacturing in the United States”, said Minh Pham, executive VP of Worldwide Manufacturing at Cypress. “This partnership expands our base of foundry customers for our Minnesota wafer fab, and will add new MEMS processing capabilities to support fabrication of Microbolometers. We expect growth in our wafer foundry business as more companies see the value and service we can offer.”