Date: 20/09/2010

New semiconductor chip making tech from IBM for power mgmt Ics

IBM has introduced a new chip-making technology for power-management semiconductor chips. This process from IBM integrates wireless communications into a single power-management chip. IBM says that this technology reduces production costs by about 20% to allow chip designers and manufacturers to create a ultra-small and affordable power semiconductor ICs that control power usage while they communicate in real-time with systems used to monitor “smart” buildings, energy grids and transportation systems.

Power management semiconductor chips are more or less ubiquitous with large impact on new emerging applications such as PV solar power systems and electric driven automotives. Infact power management devices are essential in most of the electronic systems to enable them to smartly manage the power consumption.

The new CMOS-7HV uses the same chip-making process employed in computers and smart phones. IBM says the CMOS-7HV allows integration of an unprecedented number of new functions – resulting in one chip where previously three or four were needed.

Here are the few market trend bits on power management ICs provided by IBM:
The market for power-management (PM) semiconductors is about $31 billion in 2010, up a sizable 40 percent from 2009 and on track to double by 2014, according to iSuppli.(1) Fresh demand from alternative energy and consumer electronics manufacturers is driving much of the demand, although any device with a power supply, battery or power cord uses a power-management chip. Devices with power supplies are especially heavy users of electricity, drawing more than half of the global $30 billion power market through their wiring annually – 60% of it wasted, leaked, costing consumers $10 billion a year.(2) New semiconductor manufacturing technologies such as CMOS-7HV can help electronics makers sew up power leakages that will enable the use of smaller more powerful batteries.

"IBM's process pushes us closer to the holy grail of wireless -- connect any where, at any time," said Jeff Hilbert, president and co-founder of Wispry, Irvine Calif. . “By enabling more efficient power management in smart phones, IBM's technology opens up the possibility of using smaller, lighter batteries or needing less recharge time to provide the same amount of ‘talk’ time, video sharing or picture-snapping."

IBM quotes below application examples for this technology:
1. Alternative Energy – IBM’s wireless PM technology can be used to create advanced power-optimizing chips located on individual solar panels to optimize electrical output of an entire array -- harvesting up to 57% of the power that is typically lost to real-world conditions such as dirty panels.
2. Smart Buildings – Since buildings worldwide consume more than 40% of all the energy we use -- more than any other product or asset – the drive is on to retrofit them with new energy-monitoring technology that makes wide use of PM chips. With IBM technology these PM chips can get smaller and cheaper and can do away with costly and intrusive wiring, making energy-efficient retrofits an easier task for the average building owner, who can see up to a 50% improvement in efficiency.
3. Semiconductor technology such as CMOS-7HV will be key enablers of future “Zero Net” buildings – structures that operate pollution-free.

"This new process can be used to create new types of affordable wireless sensors, the kind needed to monitor and connect the smart systems coming on line in the next few years -- from alternative-energy products being developed by industrial firms to consumer companies looking to deliver mobile entertainment," said Michael J. Cadigan, general manager, IBM Microelectronics Division. "Integrating communications and power sensors on one chip cuts costs for the industry and is an example of our 'smart-planet' technology vision -- one that we back up with R&D."

The company’s semiconductor plant in Burlington Vt., will be the primary manufacturing location for the new technology. IBM is scheduling full production for the first half of 2011.