Siemens collaborates with UMC on design kits for automotive and power applications

Plano, Texas, USA - January 20, 2022 -- Siemens Digital Industries Software today announced it has collaborated with United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) to develop process design kits (PDKs) for the foundry‘s 110-nanometer (nm) and 180-nm BCD technology platforms. The new PDKs for UMC, which is a leading semiconductor foundry focused on logic and specialty technologies, are optimized for Siemens EDA’s Tanner™ custom design flow software, enabling innovative designs for a wide variety of integrated circuits (ICs) used in automotive and power applications.

Siemens’ custom IC design kits built using its Tanner software are now available for UMC’s BCD processes. The foundry’s 110-nm and 180-nm BCD platforms aim to provide best-in-class chip design kits and integrated product solutions for applications requiring power management ICs (PMICs), battery management ICs (BMICs) and wireless and fast charging ICs.

BCD technology delivers power IC designs of up to 100V operating voltage, enabling exceptional energy efficiency and high integration that combines analog circuits and digital content as well as power devices and embedded NVMs.

“Dozens of customers’ designs have been verified and entered production in the last few quarters amid robust market demand,” said Cedric Lee, senior division director and chairman of the High Voltage Product Line Management committee at UMC. “With applications becoming more sophisticated, power management solutions are also getting increasingly complex. Innovations such as Edge AI and mobility devices are driving the need for higher performance on shrinking area and low leakage. In collaboration with Siemens, UMC strives to equip our customers with the tools they need to bring their designs to life.”

Siemens‘ Tanner software features an advanced, high-performance, easy-to-use schematic and layout editor and integration with best-in-class circuit simulators and Calibre ® software, an industry-leading solution for design rule checking, parasitic extraction and physical verification. Tanner has a 30-year track record and has been used to successfully tape out thousands of designs.

“Through our collaboration with UMC, our mutual customers can adopt the certified process design kit for BCD technologies and start designing immediately with increased productivity,” said Fred Sendig, general manager of the Integrated Circuit Design Solutions group at Siemens Digital Industries Software. “These certified PDKs allow UMC customers to leverage the complete Siemens EDA custom IC design flow, enabling them to design innovative applications with confidence.”

For more information on UMC’s BCD technology, please visit UMC’s website: www.umc.com/en/Product/technologies/Detail/bcd

Siemens Digital Industries Software is driving transformation to enable a digital enterprise where engineering, manufacturing and electronics design meet tomorrow. The Xcelerator portfolio helps companies of all sizes create and leverage digital twins that provide organizations with new insights, opportunities and levels of automation to drive innovation. For more information on Siemens Digital Industries Software products and services, visit siemens.com/software.