Semiconductor companies developing medical products frequently need non-standard I/Os and ESD protection. Think about pace makers, implanted hearing aids, sensors on patches. Semiconductors are used in new locations, are hard to replace and need low-power circuits
Custom ESD requirements
Chips used in medical applications require custom ESD protection solutions:
ICs are inserted in novel locations (on the body, inside the body)
Replacement of damaged parts is hard or impossible
Higher ESD robustness required for some cases
Sensors, actuators frequently require higher voltages
Wireless connections need low-cap ESD protection
Many applications need low-power electronics
Sofics IP for Medical Applications
Key focus areas
A. Wireless interfaces
Medical electronics frequently rely on wireless communication. The wireless interfaces need ESD clamps with low parasitic capacitance. Sofics clamps provide standard ESD robustness and do not require a resistance in the signal path.
B. Beyond standard voltage levels
Our IP was used for sensor interfaces, battery connections and more. We have delivered solutions for high voltage tolerance (5V and higher) thanks to a flexible but deterministic solution set
C. Battery powered applications
Human implanted devices have limited access to power. Either they are batery powered or receive additional charges through inductive power through the skin.
Customers have integrated Sofics ESD in systems running for years on a single battery. The leakage of our ESD cells is 100x lower compared to conventional approach. Huge improvements can be made in stand-by, sleep, operational modes and during power-cycles. Sofics has solutions available for interfaces and rail clamps.
D. Harsh environments
Medical devices need to be super reliable. For some replacing a failed device is hard. Moreover, these devices are used in new environments not well studied for ESD risks. Sofics IP was used for body-implanted semiconductors. Our ESD clamps are easily scaled to any ESD/EOS protection level.
Process technology covered
Mature CMOS (0.5um to 180nm)
Mainstream CMOS (130nm to 65nm)
Advanced CMOS (40nm to 22nm)
Foundries covered
TSMC
IC products from our customers
Our customers have created amazing products. We supported different teams developping hearing aids, both implanted and non-implanted. We recently also delivered custom ESD clamps for a wearable device that has a much broader set of sensors for monitoring patients health real-time.
Specialized ESD design solutions within a very short turnaround time. They truly demonstrated first-time-right delivery capabilities.
Michel De Mey
Senior Director of Hearing and Audio Solutions at AMIS
Easy-to-use, easy-to-integrate TakeCharge ESD protection solution so we can focus on bringing our cutting-edge industry standard products to customers quickly and cost effectively.
Michel De Mey
Senior Director of Hearing and Audio Solutions at AMIS
The TakeCharge Solution enables full flexibility in our designs in terms of specifications and area efficiency.
Michel De Mey
Senior Director of Hearing and Audio Solutions at AMIS
“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
“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
“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
Further reading
Blog article “Challenges for IC design in medical applications”
Press release about our cooperation with AMIS
Short video “3 key challenges in medical IC design“
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