Cypress and Tower Semiconductor Announce Completion of Cypress’s First
0.18-Micron Stitched Custom CMOS Image Sensor Device
Tower’s Patented Small-Pixel Stitching Technology to Manufacture High End Application
SAN JOSE, Calif., USA and MIGDAL HA’EMEK, Israel,
July 7, 2008 –
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY), a leading developer and manufacturer of programmable mixed-signal
solutions and CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) components, and Tower Semiconductor, Ltd.
(Nasdaq: TSEM, TASE: TSEM), an independent specialty foundry, today announced the
successful completion of Cypress’s first 0.18-micron stitched large-format CIS device. The
product is to be manufactured using Tower Semiconductor’s latest generation of stitching
technology at Tower’s 200-mm Fab 2 in Migdal Ha’emek, Israel.
Cypress and Tower have collaborated on CIS products for more than five years, primarily using
Tower’s Fab 1 technology. Cypress is now also using Fab 2’s advanced 0.18-micron technology,
producing products serving a variety of applications, including industrial imaging, high-end
cameras and dental imaging.
Cypress’s stitched CIS product is the latest addition to Tower’s Fab 2, 0.18-micron technology
platform. Tower’s patented stitching technology overcomes photolithography tool limitations to
seamlessly tile 5.5-micron pixel sections into a large pixel array, resulting in ultra-high resolution,
high-quality color image sensors. This technology enables manufacturing of die sizes up to a
single die per 200-mm wafer.
Cypress is the market leader in the custom CIS market, with a broad portfolio of products for
high-speed imaging, machine vision, barcode, medical, and digital cinema applications.
Cypress’s design expertise and patented IP in custom large-die sensors, combined with Tower’s
high-performance CIS process capabilities, result in innovative sensors benefiting from the high
image quality and large die sizes that Tower’s technology enables.
“We are very pleased with the results of our first 0.18 micron stitched design in the Tower
process. Tower brings unique CIS technology and manufacturing capabilities to our portfolio,”
Cypress Selects Tower Semiconductor to Manufacture Custom CMOS Image Sensors –
said Dr. Cliff Drowley, vice president and general manager of Cypress’s image sensor business
unit. “Custom products require best-of-breed product capabilities, and we were able to achieve
such a capability on this stitched large-die design through close interaction between our design
team and Tower’s foundry experts.”
“We are pleased to partner with Cypress in the manufacturing of their custom CMOS image
sensing designs,” said Dr. Avi Strum, general manager of the specialty product line at Tower
Semiconductor. “Custom products for high-end applications bring out the best that our
technology has to offer, enabling high-profile business opportunities for both companies.”
