NASTEE technology extends to RFID chips

AMI Semiconductor has been selected by Magellan Technology to manufacture two of its RFID silicon solutions, including ST3 for StackTag version 3 and BT3 for ItemTag version 3.

AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has been selected by Magellan Technology to manufacture two of its RFID silicon solutions, including ST3 for StackTag version 3 and BT3 for ItemTag version 3.

In producing the chips, AMIS uses its 0.5um standard mixed-signal CMOS process with its proprietary "no added step electrical erasable" (NASTEE) memory cell.

The NASTEE technology replaces and improves traditional masking and laser-trimming techniques used to fine-tune analogue and mixed-signal circuits, like those used in RFID chips.

Using NASTEE, Magellan is able to embed calibration technology in the circuits of the chips, thereby retaining the technology's ability to be reprogrammed as needed.

Ultimately, the AMIS NASTEE technology helps lower manufacturing costs by reducing the number of production masking steps and providing enhanced production yields through reduced process complexity.

"We chose AMIS because of their long-standing reputation in solving problems", stated Ken Laing, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for Magellan.

"We needed a flexible solution that could make our RFID technology stand out from our competitors and AMIS enabled that solution with NASTEE.

We like the simple reprogrammability that the company's process offers and the added cost and time advantages of no extra mask steps.

Additionally, AMIS is the only company to offer the depth of engineering support needed to meet our cost and time-to-market expectations, truly making AMI Semiconductor the solution to real-world problems".

"This is an exciting, fast-growing market for AMIS and has proven to be a large success with customers in the automotive, medical and industrial spaces", said Al Morrison, Vice President of AMI Semiconductor's mixed-signal foundry service.

"We first introduced our NASTEE technology in 1999 and began working with Magellan in 2001 to produce their industry-leading RFID technology.

We believe it is the ideal solution for this hot new application and we look forward to continuing our work with Magellan on future generations of their RFID silicon solutions.

We are proud to add RFID capabilities to our foundry services portfolio".

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