Revolutionary iCMOSTM process technology enables ICs with both outstanding analog performance and up to 30-volt supplies.
November 9, 2004- Analog Devices, Inc. demonstrated its commitment to the industrial and instrumentation electronics industry with the announcement of a new semiconductor manufacturing process that combines high-voltage silicon with submicron CMOS and complementary bipolar technologies. Extensive research and development efforts have culminated in Analog Devices' industrial CMOS (iCMOSTM) process technology that enables unprecedented levels of performance, design, and cost efficiencies in high-voltage applications, such as factory automation and process controls. Fifteen new analog components introduced today leverage the new process to great results. Unlike analog solutions using conventional CMOS manufacturing processes, components manufactured on the iCMOS industrial process can withstand up to 30-volt (V) supplies while delivering breakthrough performance levels, cutting system design cost, and reducing power consumption by up to 85 percent and package size by 30 percent.
Quad 16-Bit DAC: The AD5764 combines four 16-bit digital-to-analog converters (DAC) in a single-chip, high accuracy solution that is 50 percent smaller than competing devices.
True bipolar input, multichannel ADCs: The 13-bit AD732x and 12 to 16-bit AD765x analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) allow wide input ranges from +/-2.5 V to +/-10 V, and feature software selectable inputs.
High-precision op amp: The AD8661 precision rail-to-rail operational amplifier features a wide dynamic operating voltage from 5 V to 16 V for single supply operation combined with low offset voltage, low input-bias, and packaging that is one third the size of competing devices.
High-voltage switches and multiplexers: Supporting +/-15 V signals, the ADG12xx switches offer very low capacitance, while the ADG14xx multiplexers dramatically reduce on-resistance.
About Analog Devices' iCMOS Industrial Process Technology
The introduction of Analog Devices' iCMOS industrial process technology enables a new category of high-performance analog components that are able to operate in electrically noisy environments but without the cost of additional ICs that are required by other CMOS process technologies. The iCMOS process technology enables devices that can withstand as much as 30 V across a chip with submicron geometry. An optional drain extension allows operation at up to 50 V. Among iCMOS's chief attributes is its ability to fully isolate components from the substrate or each other. That means a single chip can mix-and-match 5-V CMOS with higher voltage 16-, 24- or 30-V CMOS circuitry, with multiple voltage supplies running to the same chip.
Analog components manufactured on the Analog Devices' iCMOS industrial process allow industrial equipment developers to integrate modern digital logic with high-speed analog circuitry in the space of a submicron monolithic integrated circuit, a footprint that no other generation of high-voltage ICs has been able to achieve. Designers specifying ADCs, for example, will find that iCMOS-based components offer a higher level of performance, lower power consumption and require less board area than ADCs manufactured on existing high-voltage CMOS processes. Similarly, Analog Devices' iCMOS DACs are able to incorporate amplifiers to drive a wide range of signals, eliminating the need for discrete amplifier chips. Multiplexers manufactured on Analog Devices' iCMOS industrial process will feature on-resistance of only 3 to 4 Ohms and a reduction of on-resistance (RON ) flatness to 0.5 ohm in a 16-pin TSOP (thin small-outline package), which, at nearly 85 percent less than industry standard RON, reduces the distortion introduced into the signal from the switching process.
Moreover, the ability of Analog Devices' iCMOS-based analog components to accommodate multiple voltages on the same chip enables designers to quickly integrate memory in devices that may require post-fabrication configuration. By allocating on-chip memory for digital calibration, for instance, ADCs can be quickly and easily adjusted to account for integral non-linearity, offset gain or other parameters. Additionally, Analog Devices' iCMOS industrial process technology supports software switching. By defining input-voltage ranges in software, for example, industrial systems manufacturers can design a single iCMOS component into multiple products, changing the input-voltage range according to each application to reduce inventory costs and simplify production design.
