Nearly Two Decades of Smart Power
Freescale Semiconductor has been developing smart power technologies for nearly two decades. SMARTMOS™ technology is Freescale's proprietary process that connects electronic systems to the physical world and human interface in a cost-effective package. Each generation of SMARTMOS technology allows improved analog, power and digital capabilities on a reduced chip size.
Our organization was the first company to introduce 0.13-micron and 0.25-micron, smart power process technology known as SMARTMOS 10 and 8 technology. Freescale ships a number of products with high-, low- and medium-voltage SMARTMOS technologies, ranging from 0.13-micron to 0.65-micron geometries.
Freescale's products using SMARTMOS technologies possess these features:
ICs using SMARTMOS technologies are ideally suited to all these tasks. The SMARTMOS process is a combinational BiCMOS-type of process that integrates precision analog, power devices and dense CMOS logic. System designers can eliminate dozens of components and combine all those functions into a single cost-effective IC including functions of voltage regulation, power MOSFETs, input signal conditioning, transient protection, system diagnostics and control.
SMARTMOS technologies support both medium voltage and low voltage applications. The medium voltage technology can drive up to 105V, with high current metals (3 levels + power metal), capable of over 5A. The low voltage technologies can drive up to 30V. Both variants have very dense CMOS logic capabilities of ~125K/mm^2 and ~25K/mm^2 gates utilizing 0.13 and 0.25 micron technologies, respectively, integrated with precision analog and power driver devices.
From integration to protection, control to communication, see how SMARTMOS devices are evolving.
SMARTMOS technology, in combination with HDTMOS and discrete FETs, for very high current capability, is Freescale's predominant process technology, which combines precision analog, high voltage, high current power capabilities and high speed CMOS in a single package.
While today's high density CMOS processes have vast amounts of processing power, they cannot directly interact with most real-world systems.
In embedded systems, these real-world signals still need to get to the processor, and loads need to be driven.
In addition, processors need to be provided with clean power and protected from the harsh electrical environment found in the real world.
By combining power, analog, and digital electronics, SMARTMOS™ 10 technology enables digital systems to connect and interact with the external environment. It is an excellent fit for all portable applications in which device size, battery life, sound quality and overall integration capability are key considerations. SMARTMOS 10 puts smart power technology to work, offering a long battery life with the lowest power device leakage level available at temperature, with a better than 20x improvement over previous generations. This device shows the most aggressive generation-to-generation shrinks in the industry for power, analog and digital with better than 50 percent reduction across the board. It enables a versatile single-chip product that can manage diverse functions, such as battery power and protection, color screens, keypads, high-speed digital USB, microphones and speakers.
In automobile electronics, Freescale's SMARTMOS 10 technology enables innovative solutions for automotive applications, helping to control engine and braking systems, airbag deployments and seat positioning. SMARTMOS 10 technology is designed to handle extreme conditions—zero defect at 175°C, with an extremely robust isolation system. Performance ranks high with a leading combination of high voltage >100V, high and low side capability and figure of merit for power structures. SMARTMOS 10 offers the highest level of system integration available worldwide with truly modular, highly reliable nonvolatile memory capabilities combined with dense, high-speed digital, a large analog tool box, the best figure of merit power and dense, low-power anti-fuse analog trim capabilities.
