TSMC Announces Winner of Mixed Signal/RF University Design Award

HSINCHU, Taiwan, R.O.C., May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today announced the winner of the TSMC Europractice Innovation award for the most innovative mixed signal or RF (Radio Frequency) design submitted by a European university through the Europractice IC service coordinated by imec.

The design from the ESAT team of K.U. Leuven showed a high degree of innovation by integrating a 120GHz Voltage Control Oscillator with a 10Gb/s phase modulating transmitter on TSMC's 65nM Low Power CMOS process. By demonstrating such a high frequency design can be implemented in CMOS, the team have enabled the further integration of digital processing circuitry with RF for future 120GHz consumer product data communication systems.

The award recognizes outstanding mixed signal or RF semiconductor design research in Europe and encourages smart silicon adoption. This inaugural award attracted applications from Universities from across Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Poland and Cyprus, who had all submitted mixed signal or RF designs through the Europractice service in the past 12 months.

A panel made up of technical experts appointed from imec, TSMC and the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) judged each paper on its ingenuity, design efficiency, power efficiency and manufacturability based on real silicon results, along with explanation of the purpose and relevance of their research and contribution to the field.  

"The design from K.U. Leuven will have a major impact on the development of short-range mm-wave communication link. I commend the team for their flair and innovation, and for demonstrating that European students lead the world in design talent," said Maria Marced, President, TSMC Europe. "The Europractice Multi-Project Wafer service has long been a channel to unleash that innovation. With a strong academic and research base, we believe Europe will continue to take a front seat in the world in mixed signal and RF silicon design innovation."

The Europractice IC service offers more than 600 European universities and research institutes cost-effective and easy access to technologies and prototyping on TSMC's CyberShuttle™ service.

The prize will be a trip for three design team members to TSMC's Headquarters in Taiwan, where winners will take a tour of one of TSMC's GigaFabs™.

About TSMC  

TSMC is the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, providing the industry's leading process technology and the foundry's largest portfolio of process-proven libraries, IPs, design tools and reference flows. The company's managed capacity in 2010 totaled 11.33 million (8-inch equivalent) wafers, including capacity from two advanced 12-inch GigaFabs™, four eight-inch fabs, one six-inch fab, as well as TSMC's wholly owned subsidiaries, WaferTech and TSMC China, and its joint venture fab, SSMC. TSMC is the first foundry to provide 40nm production capabilities. Its corporate headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan. For more information about TSMC please visit http://www.tsmc.com.

About Europractice IC service

Europractice IC service is an EC-funded project in the frame of FP7, coordinated by imec. The Europractice IC service offers affordable IC design EDA tools and IC prototyping services to 650 European universities and research institutes. Further information on Europractice can be found at http://www.europractice.com

About imec

Imec performs world-leading research in nanoelectronics. Imec leverages its scientific knowledge with the innovative power of its global partnerships in ICT, healthcare and energy. Imec delivers industry-relevant technology solutions. In a unique high-tech environment, its international top talent is committed to providing the building blocks for a better life in a sustainable society. Imec is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Taiwan, US, China and Japan. Its staff of more than 1,900 people includes over 500 industrial residents and guest researchers. In 2010, imec's revenue (P&L) was 285 million euro. Further information on imec can be found at www.imec.be.

About GSA:

The Global Semiconductor Alliance mission is to accelerate the growth and increase the return on invested capital of the global semiconductor industry by fostering a more effective ecosystem through collaboration, integration and innovation. It addresses the challenges within the supply chain including IP, EDA/design, wafer manufacturing, test and packaging to enable industry-wide solutions. Providing a platform for meaningful global collaboration, the Alliance identifies and articulates market opportunities, encourages and supports entrepreneurship, and provides members with comprehensive and unique market intelligence. Members include companies throughout the supply chain representing 25 countries across the globe. www.gsaglobal.org

SOURCE TSMC