ResourceXplorer

Find our technical papers, webinars, articles

The ResourceXplorer enables you to access technical papers, webinars and articles related to analog/mixed-signal semiconductor technologies.



308 entries found



A frequent Re-design root cause in Smart Power ICs, like motor drivers: parasitic Substrate Couplings. Today these problems are handled by hand, Trial & Error by very experienced designers after measured silicon: time consuming. Substrate coupling is an active and distributed large signal problem, not locally concentrated, AC simplifications do not work.

Do you know what happens to your IC design once you have taped-out to your foundry?
This webinar will shed some light on the various techniques applied in the process from design submission to mask generation. You will learn about the Data Input Check performed by X-FAB to ensure the best possible fabrication quality and how scribe lane structures are added allowing the monitoring of key process parameters.  It will also address how the mask generation flow is optimized for different prototyping scenarios such as Single Layer Masks (SLM) and Multi Layer Masks (MLM). In addition, practical suggestions will be provided on how to bypass the reticle limitations by using stitching for large layouts.

In this webinar, we will showcase the different prototyping services X-FAB offers so that you can make the most of your designs and get it first-time-right.

One of the key trends in medical science is the personalization of health care: the analysis of the patient’s characteristics and physical condition, and the individual adaptation of medical treatment. An important cornerstone for this trend is the introduction of Lab-on-Chip technology which enables the analysis of minute quantities of biological sample material or liquid - resulting in the generic term “Microfluidics”. 

Microchips in microfluidic applications use common functional elements based on MEMS processes, e.g. fluidic channels and chambers, electrodes or injection ports. Due to the variety of applications and the various players entering this market there is – to date – no standardized approach to realize these functional elements. X-FAB started an effort to address this challenge by setting up the X-FAB Microfluidic Platform, with the goal to support customers with cost-effective, silicon-proven solutions enabling faster time to market. This webinar will provide an overview of typical building blocks of a Lab-on-Chip device and technical solutions based on the capabilities available through X-FAB’s MEMS foundry services

Designs are becoming more complex - More integration of sensors, HV, analog, large digital & NVM on one IC. Time-to-market becomes even more important, as well as cost and best-in-class performance. More-than-Moore processes at 180nm and below provide new advantages and enable new products, but also introduce new challenges.

Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) is a very critical Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) process that requires an exceptional planarization state and reduction of micro-scratches is highly vital [1-2]. Minimizing defects has been a challenging task in STI CMP in both traditionally fumed silica slurry and advanced colloidal silica slurry process [3-4]. Furthermore, the use of ceria (CeO2) slurry in STI CMP heightens this difficulty as ceria slurry tends to agglomerate exceedingly easily in contrast to fumed silica slurry. Additionally, vulnerability to micro-scratches in polished wafers increase exceptionally when ceria (CeO2) slurry is utilized in STI CMP.

Even though image sensors have become smaller and smaller in the past years for usage in mobile phone and digital cameras, there are still applications which require large image sensors. For example, X-Ray sensors are used in a wide range of medical, industrial and scientific applications. Such large pixel designs come with their specific design challenges especially if they have to been read out fast.
In this webinar X-FAB will showcase its 0.18 µm CMOS process (XS018) that is particularly well-suited for image sensors. The presentation will focus on large pixel designs. Several pixel layouts with different photodiode shapes have been tested and characterized. You will learn about the pros and cons with regards to speed, full well capacity and image lag for the these layout structures. Register now to find out how your pixel design can be optimized!

The optimization of a metal-Schottky source-drain NMOS structure and it’s underlying parasitic lateral BJT has been performed on a 0.18 um feature size BCD power IC process. The metal-Schottky structure is fabricated using an ultra-shallow ion implantation which is capable of modifying the barrier height without the need for introduction of non-standard metal systems into the CMOS fab.

CMOS-MEMS integration is getting a more and more important topic with growing expectations and requirements on the function and performance of micro sensors [1]. The integration of ASICs and memories to MEMS sensor structures allows by calibration the compensation of side effects (temperature influences, stress influences,…) and manufacturing tolerances.

Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) are bridging as sensors and actuators the gap between the real analogue word and the digital world with their enormous data processing and data storage possibilities. MEMS solutions are providing significant advantages: small form factors allow the integration of sensors in miniaturized systems and their manufacturing in modern wafer processes makes them available in very high amounts at quite low costs.

Preventive maintenance activities require a tool to be offline for long hour in order to perform the prescribed maintenance activities. Although preventive maintenance is crucial to ensure operational reliability and efficiency of the tool, long hour of preventive maintenance activities increases the cycle time of the semiconductor fabrication foundry (Fab). Therefore, this activity is usually performed when the incoming Work-in-Progress to the equipment is forecasted to be low.