MagnaChip and Peregrine Semiconductor Expand Production of STeP5 UltraCMOS® RFIC and DuNE™ DTC Tuning Products

SAN DIEGO & SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESSWIRE)-- MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (“MagnaChip Semiconductor”) (NYSE:MX - News), a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, and Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:PSMI - News), a fabless provider of high-performance radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), today announced that MagnaChip has expanded production of Peregrine Semiconductor’s STeP5 UltraCMOS^® technology-based RFIC product line, including the most recent DuNE™ Digitally Tunable Capacitors (DTCs) for RF impedance tuning. Peregrine Semiconductor and MagnaChip announced the final qualification and high-volume production ramp of the “STeP5” UltraCMOS process in the third calendar quarter 2011. Due to the continued increase in orders for the STeP5 products, MagnaChip fulfilled the fastest manufacturing ramp in Peregrine Semiconductor’s history.

Current generations of UltraCMOS, an advanced form of Silicon-on-Insulator technology, utilize a sapphire substrate, which enables high levels of monolithic integration, and results in smaller die, higher yields, and fewer external components than other competing compound semiconductor processes. Distinctive generations of the UltraCMOS process are released in “STePs.” The STeP5 products are produced at MagnaChip’s Cheongju, South Korea facility, where MagnaChip also manufactures Peregrine’s legacy “STeP3” and “STeP4” UltraCMOS devices in high volume.

“It is important for MagnaChip to engage with partners who are solving the RF-design challenges associated with the latest 4G LTE networks, and Peregrine Semiconductor is one of those partners,” said Namkyu Park, vice president of marketing for MagnaChip’s foundry division. “We are pleased with the successful ramp and rapid expansion of the STeP5 UltraCMOS product line, including the DuNE DTCs for RF impedance matching. MagnaChip’s manufacturing expertise, combined with our customers’ design capabilities, will allow us to continue to provide robust and cost-competitive manufacturing solutions to our customers.”

“MagnaChip has provided excellent support and flexibility in ramping to meet the large demand for our STeP5 UltraCMOS products,” said Ian Warbrick, vice president of operations for Peregrine Semiconductor. “They added capacity very quickly, and processed a large volume of wafers with expedited cycle times, enabling us to meet our customers’ expectations.”

About Peregrine Semiconductor

Peregrine Semiconductor (NASDAQ:PSMI - News) is a fabless provider of high-performance radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). Our solutions leverage our proprietary UltraCMOS^® technology, an advanced RF Silicon-On-Insulator process. Our products deliver what we believe is an industry-leading combination of performance and monolithic integration, and target a broad range of applications in the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets. Additional information is available on the Company’s website at http://www.psemi.com.

About MagnaChip Semiconductor

Headquartered in South Korea, MagnaChip Semiconductor is a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for high volume consumer applications. MagnaChip Semiconductor believes it has one of the broadest and deepest range of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platforms in the industry, supported by its 30-year operating history, large portfolio of registered and pending patents and extensive engineering and manufacturing process expertise. For more information, please visit http://www.magnachip.com.

The Peregrine Semiconductor name, logo, and UltraCMOS are registered trademarks, and DuNE is a trademark, of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation in the U.S.A., and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

Tags/Keywords:

RF CMOS IC, Silicon-on-Sapphire, UltraCMOS, RFIC, DuNE™ digitally tunable capacitors

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