To further strengthen its analog signal processing capabilities, programmable mixed-signal IC supplier Xicor Inc. has acquired fabless design house Analog Integration Partners (AIP). This move will let Xicor penetrate markets like LCD monitors, broadband communications, and Gigabit Ethernet.
Xicor will use AIP's experience in designing high-performance analog front ends (AFEs) and data conversion circuits in standard 0.25-µm and 0.18-µm and finer CMOS processes to build system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for these applications. AIP is now adapting its analog and mixed-signal designs in 0.13-µm CMOS capability. Toward that end, AIP is designing an AFE for communications applications.
For analog and mixed-signal designs, AIP has readied a library with 15 to 20 basic building blocks based on the state-of-the-art CMOS logic process. The developer also is designing a patent-pending high-performance, high-frequency, multibit delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter with variable sampling rate and gigahertz capability. It's expected to be ported to AIP's mixed-signal library and made available as IP to select customers by early next year.
The consolidation will be completed by summer. Based in Milpitas, Calif., three-year-old AIP will become Xicor's signal processing division. The first product to result from this effort will be an integrated AFE based on 0.18-µm CMOS for LCD controllers. Visit www.xicor.com for details.