ams to manufacture Sarda’s advanced high-voltage CMOS drivers

Designed to address the rapidly escalating power consumption in data centres, Sarda’s HIPS technology enables the development of voltage regulators that offer fast response, small size and high efficiency for granular power delivery. Sarda’s custom driver is currently being fabricated in ams’ 0.35µm high-voltage CMOS specialty process, which allows the efficient integration of voltage domains ranging from 3 to 120V on a single monolithic IC.

“This relationship proves, that there are strong foundry partners for start-ups to leverage the extensive capabilities of foundries”, said Bob Conner, CEO and co-founder of Sarda. “ams is an excellent manufacturing partner. Their Full Service Foundry allowed us to develop a disruptive power management solution in a capital-efficient fashion and their extensive value-added services allow small design teams to focus on developing differentiated IP.”

As part of its comprehensive Full Service Foundry offering, ams supplied its industry benchmark PDK (hitkit) with its fully characterised analogue and digital cell libraries and ESD compliant I/0 libraries for multiple voltage domains. Additionally, ams supported ESD/Latch up design reviews, packaging services and failure analysis.

“Sarda’s approach of integrating silicon ICs and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) demonstrates how product developers can use ‘More-than-Moore Scaling’ to significantly improve data centre power management, performance and energy efficiency”, said Markus Wuchse, General Manager, ams Full Service Foundry division. “At ams, we are constantly engaging with innovative fabless start-ups to enable  product releases in shortest times. Sarda is a perfect example for this cooperation model.”

The Full Service Foundry division of ams has successfully positioned itself in the analogue/mixed-signal foundry market. Its process technology portfolio includes 0.18 and 0.35µm specialty technologies based on ams’ analogue, mixed-signal, High-Voltage and RF processes. With its ‘More than Silicon’ initiative, ams offers a comprehensive service and technology package that goes beyond industry-standard foundry services.

It includes leading-edge technology extensions such as 3D integration using Through Silicon Vias, optical filters, back end process customisation, 3D-WLCSP and many more. Superior support during the design phase, high-end tools and experienced engineers, silicon-proven high-performance analogue IP blocks, assembly and test services for turnkey solutions complete the Full Service Foundry package.