Dongbu HiTek launches Analog/Power ecosystem to streamline development of automotive and power ICs

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Dongbu HiTek has unveiled an analog/power semiconductor ecosystem that promises to reduce both the time and cost to develop automotive and power ICs. Called the Analog POWERhouse Connection, the new ecosystem efficiently links Dongbu HiTek’s BCDMOS foundry processing with 18 well established companies, each with expertise at key nodes along the IC supply chain.

Four of these companies specialize in intellectual property (IP) and design while five focus on testing and nine on packaging. By tailoring ecosystem support to the needs of each customer and efficiently managing selected resources, Dongbu HiTek aims to sharpen its competitive edge as well as that of its customers.

“We carefully formulated our ecosystem to provide the industry’s most efficient and collaborative support for chip designers targeting the automotive and power IC market,” asserted Jae Song, VP of sales and marketing for Dongbu HiTek.

“From providing critical IP access, prototype design/verification and specialized wafer processing to testing and packaging, our Analog POWERhouse Specialists deliver superb performance across all critical steps in the development of automotive and power ICs.” He expects the ecosystem unveiled today to expand in two ways: by adding new resources from current partners in the supply chain; and by selectively adding new expert-partners at strategic locations around the globe.

Analog POWERhouse specialists
At the hub of the ecosystem is Dongbu HiTek, which has steadily expanded its capabilities to meet the demanding criteria to manufacture automotive ICs over the past decade. Two months ago the company fully qualified its advanced 180nm Mixed-Signal (MS180) Process and EEPROM IP to meet the rigorous quality/reliability criteria set forth in the automotive AEC-Q100 ‘Grade 0’ standard.

At the same time, the company confirmed that its 0.35um BCDMOS (BD350) process and other Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) modules were currently being qualified to the same AEC-Q100 stress level. Moreover, Dongbu HiTek is committed to provide best-in-class Analog CMOS and BCDMOS processing for low-voltage, energy-efficient chips as well as high-voltage chips, currently up to 85V and soon up to 700V.

As a design/IP ecosystem partner, Triune Systems specifically targets the automotive electronics market with its LIN transceiver IP, a physical layer device for single wire communications where high data rate is not required; thus a cost effective solution can be achieved with wiring and microprocessor implementation.

Triune Systems also offers its NanoSmart regulator IP, which clearly demonstrates the strength of Dongbu HiTek’s process technology for critical markets such as energy harvesting. Other design and IP specialists playing key roles in the ecosystem include Mandate and IK Semicon, both providing comprehensive design services in power management, and POPCore Tech, which specializes in precision analog design capabilities.

Testing specialists comprise Anora and Microtech Laboratories in the US, KYEC in Taiwan, and GM Test and I-Test in Korea. Anora provides innovative analog/power design-for-test methodologies that substantially reduce the time, resources and costs associated with test development and production testing without sacrificing test coverage.

Typical results include reducing the cycle time (from final design to release to production) by half as well as production test implementations that can cost as little as 25 percent of standard approaches. Microtech provides physical defect failure analysis as well as electrical analysis that can resolve complex analog parametric issues.

Packaging specialists include Chipbond and TICP in Taiwan, UNISEM in Malaysia, and NEPES, LBS, SEMITEQ, Hanamicron, and Signetics in Korea, as well as AMKOR.

By leveraging this extensive array of test and packaging resources including specialized technologies such as thick copper for power, Dongbu HiTek’s Supply Chain Management team can craft turnkey services that target the combination of capabilities that best meet the customer’s requirements for achieving both technical and business goals.