All-new bipolar process comes on stream

Zetex's first internally developed bipolar IC process has begun production.

Zetex's first internally developed bipolar IC process has begun production.

The culmination of a three-year project, the ZA process forms the basis to a completely new family of audio and video signal processing products.

"Advances in bipolar technology such as this are crucial to the future of analogue system design.

This 0.6um, two metal layer process handles any analogue application from DC up to 1GHz and is more than sufficient to support our low-noise, low-distortion audio and video products", said Glenn Birchby, Product Development Manager at Zetex.

The first new product to be released from the ZA process is a quad high-speed amplifier for high-integrity video signal management.

In the pipeline are audio amplifier, sync signal separator, filter and buffer components.

Birchby continued, "Unlike digital, analogue doesn't need to chase the geometries - we require a low-power, flexible platform with excellent matching.

ZA gives us the performance capability customers are demanding".

Zetex certainly has an advantage in developing the new process, its IC design and technology development team claims more than 250 man-years of bipolar IC development expertise.

The ZA process employs a method of oxide isolation that reduces circuit parasitics and current requirements, thereby increasing working voltages.

To reduce external component counts, polysilicon resistors and floating capacitors are integrated into the structure.

Complementary NPN and PNP devices further simplify designs.

The capability of the Zetex bipolar process can be extended to increase speed, working voltage or to include other structures, including CMOS to arrive at BiCMOS solutions.

(This was Electronicstalk's Top Story on 12 December 2001).

(This was Electronicstalk's Top Story on 12 December 2001).

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