Jazz Semiconductor Expands Analog-Intensive Mixed-Signal (AIMS) Functionality With Adoption Of Cadence Virtuoso IC 6.1 Custom Design Platform

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jazz Semiconductor® (AMEX:JAZ), the leader in Analog-Intensive Mixed-Signal (AIMS) foundry solutions, today announced availability of the Jazz IC 6.1 process design kit (PDK) for Cadence Design Systems' Virtuoso® IC 6.1 custom design platform in Jazz's 0.18-micron SiGe BiCMOS process (SBC18). The collaboration between Jazz and Cadence on integrated radio frequency/mixed-signal (RF/MS) platforms reduces time-to-market for AIMS products.

The adoption of IC 6.1 enables Jazz to improve the analog simulation and layout capabilities over previous generations. It provides customer focused solutions through an AIMS environment improving modeling and accuracy, enabling first silicon success for a greater time-to-market advantage. By supporting the RF and analog/mixed-signal (AMS) kits, customers have access to RF, analog and digital design technology to help them streamline the design of complex mixed-signal chips.

Jazz's IC 6.1 SBC18 PDK provides customers with several key advantages including advanced statistical modeling tools and scalable SKILL pcells and models for all components including inductors through the Jazz Inductor Toolbox (JIT). It also enables customers to enhance their productivity through the use of innovative solutions such as the Virtuoso Space-based Router for custom chip, block, and device-level routing.

The IC 6.1 SBC18 PDK was developed with the Cadence "PDK Automation System," or PAS, and validated with the "System for Testing PDKs," or STEP. PAS and STEP are the cornerstone of Jazz's PDK and Rule Deck development methodology because they improve quality, reduce development and quality assurance time, lower lifecycle costs, and provide a shared PDK development platform for multiple developers or teams.

"Jazz's early adoption of Virtuoso IC 6.1 allowed them to gain valuable experience to provide our mutual customers with high-quality PDKs that address their need to create differentiated RF and AIMS products," said Srinivas Raman, corporate vice president of research and development at Cadence. "In addition, Jazz PDKs combined with the productivity advancements in IC 6.1 enable designers to achieve more predictable design cycles and to accelerate their overall IC design flow in order to exceed expectations in today's demanding business climate."

"As the leading provider of RF and AIMS foundry solutions, it is critical to our success that we supply our customers with a fast and silicon-accurate method to quickly design and deliver their most complex chips," said Marco Racanelli, vice president of technology and engineering at Jazz. "Working closely with Cadence has enabled us to increase the capabilities of our AIMS design environment and reinforces our dedication to providing the foundry industry's most advanced design enablement tools."

Cadence and Jazz are also collaborating on support for Cadence QRC extraction including the capability to perform substrate analysis. Solid substrate isolation is a key requirement as more components are integrated in a single chip. For numerous process nodes, Cadence QRC substrate extraction technology has been used to analyze the relative merits of different isolation strategies with good correlation to silicon measurements. Jazz has implemented QRC support in other PDKs and has validated the results against silicon measurements.

About Jazz Semiconductor

Jazz Semiconductor®, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jazz Technologies™, Inc. (AMEX:JAZ), is the leading independent wafer foundry focused on Analog-Intensive Mixed-Signal (AIMS) CMOS process technologies. The company's broad portfolio of modular AIMS technologies includes RFCMOS and specialty CMOS processes, such as Enhanced RFCMOS, BiCMOS, SiGe BiCMOS, Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS, and High Voltage CMOS. These technologies are designed to produce analog and mixed-signal semiconductor devices that are smaller and more highly integrated, power-efficient, feature-rich and cost-effective than those produced using standard process technologies. Jazz also offers world-class design enablement tools to speed customers' time from design to revenue production. The Company serves customers in the wireless and high-speed wireline communications, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial end markets. Jazz executive offices and its U.S. wafer fabrication facilities are located in Newport Beach, CA. Jazz Semiconductor also has engineering, manufacturing, and sales support in Shanghai, China. For more information, please visit www.jazzsemi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the statements relating to growth in the analog IC market and the development and execution of our strategic business initiatives. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "trend," "potential," "opportunity," "pipeline," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intention," "estimate," "position," "assume," "outlook," "continue," "remain," "maintain," "create," "sustain," "seek," "achieve," and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "may" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based largely on expectations and projections about future events and future trends and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Actual results and consequences, including any expected benefits and anticipated cost savings over competing technologies, could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and you should not place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual performance to differ from these forward-looking statements include the risks and uncertainties disclosed in Jazz Technologies' filings with the SEC. Jazz Technologies' filings with the SEC are accessible on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Jazz Technologies assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Cadence and Virtuoso are registered trademarks, and the Cadence logo is a trademark of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other marks are properties of their respective holders.

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