Peregrine Semiconductor and MagnaChip Announce Completed the Final Qualification Phase in the Process Technology Transfer of Peregrine’s UltraCMOS SOS (Silicon-On-Sapphire) Technology to MagnaChip’s Cheongju Wafer Manufacturing Facility

The UltraCMOS process is a patented silicon-on-sapphire technology (SOS) that has for years been recognized as a technically superior semiconductor vehicle reserved for highly specialized military and space projects. SOS was thought to be impossible to manufacture in commercial volumes at a reasonable cost. Overcoming these challenges without sacrificing the inherent benefits of the technology took several years of research and development, all now protected by dozens of patents. The UltraCMOS process is the industry’s first and only commercially qualified use of Ultra-Thin-Silicon (UTSi(R)) on sapphire substrates enabling the combination of high-performance RF, mixed-signal, passive elements, nonvolatile memory and digital functions on a single device. integration provides significant performance advantages over competing mixed-signal processes such as GaAs, SiGe, BiCMOS and bulk silicon CMOS in applications where RF performance, low power and integration are paramount. Additionally, because UltraCMOS devices are fabricated in standard high-volume CMOS facilities, products benefit from the fundamental reliability, cost effectiveness, high yields, scalability and integration of CMOS, while achieving the peak performance levels historically expected from SiGe and GaAs.Peregrine and MagnaChip began the final qualification phase of the technology transfer in July 2008 and released it to production 8 weeks ago. The 10-month qualification cycle of UltraCMOS technology is exceptionally short due to its standard CMOS foundation. The Peregrine and MagnaChip worked diligently to ensure a smooth final qualification, including the completion of a 500 hour reliability test which delivered zero failures…

Bulk and UltraCMOS Process
(Picture: Peregrine Semiconductor)