Dec. 3, 2001 – San Jose, CA – Cypress Semiconductor and SiGe Semiconductor have signed an agreement to collaborate on an advanced Silicon Germanium (SiGe) process.

Under the agreement, the companies will merge SiGe Semiconductor’s RF process and device modeling expertise with Cypress’ BiCMOS and manufacturing capabilities to bring performance, integration and power advantages to manufacturers of wireless and broadband communications equipment, the companies said. Cypress and SiGe expect to deliver production-ready SiGe processes during the 1Q02.

“Developing a SiGe process internally strengthens our position in the communications markets, as the technology is uniquely capable of meeting the growing expectations of this market,” said Chris Seams, Cypress’s VP of technology development & wafer manufacturing.

SiGe processes are gaining importance with wireless and broadband equipment, as the expectations for size, performance and power consumption exceed what can cost-effectively be achieved in silicon-based CMOS.

According to the companies, the technology reduces power consumption to extend the battery life in handheld devices; improves phase noise to increase performance, data rates, transmission range, and stability over a broad temperature range; and allows more circuitry to be integrated on a single die, reducing the number of external components and associated board space.