Smart power chip breakthrough claimed

Freescale has claimed it is the first company to manufacture an integrated smart power chip at the 0.13µm technology node. The device, manufactured on the company’s SMARTMOS 10 process, features optimised power, analogue and digital devices. SMARTMOS 10 is said to reduce power device leakage by more than 20 times, compared to the previous technology generation. It is also said to double the performance of analogue matching across FETs, resistors and capacitors, resulting in improved a/d conversion resolution. SMARTMOS 10 can support 30V for improved LED backlighting performance brightness and uniformity. It allows integration of high speed and low leakage digital functions and features low current dense fuses for customisation, calibration and parallel programming. “As designers continue to integrate computing power into more consumer devices, the capabilities that SMARTMOS technology enables are crucial,” said Saied Tehrani, Freescale fellow and director of SMARTMOS and MRAM technologies. “SMARTMOS 10 technology allows devices to continue to shrink in size while improving performance characteristics. The technology advancement helps extend battery life, making it ideal for managing system power as well as the system external interfaces.” The first SMARTMOS 10 technology products are expected to be available in 2008.