Automotive Electronics

Automotive electronics used in safety critical like applications have severe ESD/EOS and EMC requirements. These chips are typically fabricated in high voltage or BCD technologies.

Another type of automotive electronics is used for ADAS, infotainment. While these chips have more standard EOS/ESD requirements they are manufactured in advanced CMOS or FinFET technology that is easily damaged during ESD stress.

Custom ESD requirements

There are several reasons why IC designers developing automotive IC products require custom ESD solutions

Infotainment and camera applications need high-speed communication. The interfaces need ESD protection with low parasitic capacitance

Automotive ICs designed in FinFET processes need effective ESD clamps to protect the sensitive circuits.

Many ICs for automotive applications are used in harsh environments. Higher than usual ESD, EMC and EOS robustness is needed.

To conserve energy, IC designers should use low leakage ESD protection concepts

Sensor interfaces or battery connections add unique I/O requirements

Sofics IP for Automotive Electronics

Key focus areas

A. High-Speed interfaces

Sofics IP was used in Automotive Ethernet. The communication interfaces need ESD clamps with low parasitic capacitance. Sofics clamps provide standard ESD robustness and do not require a resistance in the signal path.

ESD with low capacitance

B. Beyond standard voltage levels

Our IP was used for sensor interfaces, battery connections and more. We have delivered unique, proprietary solutions for high voltage tolerance interface where conventional ESD concepts fail to protect.

High voltage tolerant ESD

C. Sensitive circuits

ICs designed for infotainment and ADAS applications use advanced FinFET process technology that is easily damaged during ESD stress. Effective protection, even for thin oxide transistors is required.

Thin oxide protection

D. Harsh environments

Automotive ICs are frequentlye used in under-the-hood environments. Sofics ESD clamps were used for sensor applications and for LIN/CAN transceivers. Our ESD clamps are easily scaled to any ESD/EOS protection level.

Clamps with high ESD robustness

Process technology covered

BCD technology (0.35um to 55nm)

Advanced CMOS (40nm to 22nm)

FinFET technology

Foundries covered

TSMC

UMC

GlobalFoundries

TowerJazz

KeyFoundry

IDM/proprietary fabs

IC products from our customers

Our customers have designed ICs for several automotive electronics applications. Examples include high-speed ethernet communication, sensor interfaces, LIN/CAN transceivers, …

"As a leader in analog and mixed-signal ICs and SoCs, we are committed to providing customers with the highest levels of reliability and performance. We need strong, sophisticated ESD protection for 60V devices without compromising the mixed signal performance of the products and we look forward to working with Sofics to that end. Sofics technology offers a proven solution which is to be adapted to the needs of ADI applications"

David Robertson

vice president of analog technology for ADI

“It is clear that IC designers that integrate Mixel’s MIPI IP can benefit from close collaboration between design teams at Mixel, Sofics, and Hardent”

Ashraf Takla

Mixel CEO and President

“To ensure good signal integrity, the MIPI PHY interfaces need to be paired with analog I/Os with low parasitic capacitance.”

Koen Verhaege

CEO of Sofics

“This defines one of our key roles in the IP eco-system: reducing time-to-market and optimizing customer profit by mitigating the risk, expenses and delays of ESD re-design”

Koen Verhaege

CEO of Sofics

“Fabless companies will always benefit from a shorter timeline and a lower cost combined with the confidence of a working solution.”

Koen Verhaege

CEO of Sofics

“ZMDI needs the best available ESD/EOS protection for our products. Sofics’ PowerQubic clamps were superior in the EMC test, as well as in parameters such as meeting flexible clamping voltage specifications”

Frank Shulze

Business Line Manager, Sensing and Automotive, ZMDI

“We selected Sofics to provide ESD/EOS protection for a new line of 0.18um devices, at a lower cost than building the clamps from scratch.”

Frank Shulze

Business Line Manager, Sensing and Automotive, ZMDI

“PowerQubic provides cost-effective, cutting-edge IC and system-level protection for high-voltage circuit designs”

Koen Verhaege

CEO at Sofics

“We’re gratified that after extensive testing TSMC has selected our technology to help customers protect their high-voltage circuits.”

Koen Verhaege

CEO at Sofics

“Sofics has been a strong supporter of the drive to improve the reliability of electronics, and has achieved several breakthroughs in ESD protection”

Noboru Shiono

Senior Manager of RCJ

“With the addition of TakeCharge on-chip ESD protection design solutions to the UMC IP Alliance Program, UMC customers will have easy access to superior ESD design solutions from an industry wide recognized leader in its field”

Ken Liou

director of the IP and Design Support Division at UMC

“Our alliance with UMC means that customers will achieve shorter design cycles for proven specialty solutions optimized with advanced ESD protection. Together, Sarnoff and UMC can better meet the specialized needs of our customers by bringing cost efficient, higher-quality solutions to market much faster.”

Koen Verhaege

CEO at Sofics

“Sofics combines IP in an advanced design flow with calculation and integration tools, and customized services. They complement the diverse Design Services offered by our portfolio of DCA partners,”

Tom Quan

Deputy Director at the Design Methodology and Service Marketing at TSMC

"Sofics is excited and honored to cooperate with TSMC. Our mission is to empower customers with advanced solutions and tools so they can independently perform successful ESD design, getting it right the first time, every time, regardless of the complexity of the process, application or innovation."

Koen verhaege

CEO at Sofics

“Using Sofics' ESD solutions we significantly lower our technical and business risks and expenses."

Kenji Numata

Senior Manager, System LSI Design Department of Toshiba’s Semiconductor Company

"This makes TakeCharge our standard choice solution for ESD protection, and we offer its unique benefits to our customers."

Kenji Numata

Senior Manager, System LSI Design Department of Toshiba’s Semiconductor Company

"Reuse of TakeCharge IP in Toshiba’s 180nm to 65nm ASIC products has consistently resulted in robust Charged Device Model (CDM), Human Body Model (HBM) and Machine Model (MM) performance.”

Kenji Numata

Senior Manager, System LSI Design Department of Toshiba’s Semiconductor Company

“We are dedicated to Toshiba’s business success in 32nm and beyond, and in the arena of COT and foundry services. The expanded licensing agreement will enable us to further strengthen the technical collaboration with Toshiba’s ESD team in the years to come.”

Koen Verhaege

CEO at Sofics

“As a specialty foundry, it is important that we provide our fabless customers with a wide range of robust and efficient high-performance ESD protection solutions for all their logic and mixed-signal applications"

Dani Ashkenazi

General Manager CMOS Product Line at Tower Semiconductor

"Sofics has consistently been a reliable and expert ESD protection IP partner to the semiconductor industry, making them the natural choice as our partner for these demanding applications.”

Dani Ashkenazi

General Manager CMOS Product Line at Tower Semiconductor

“We are pleased that Tower Semiconductor selected our technology to provide a high quality ESD protection platform. TakeCharge ESD protection solutions are developed with scalability in mind, and thus can meet high-performance requirements, even up to 20kV HBM.”