Press Release: TSMC and Kodak agreement for CMOS image sensors
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
(TSMC) and Eastman Kodak Company have signed a technology licensing agreement
that enables the manufacture of a new generation of high-quality CMOS image
sensor (CIS) devices. The agreement is part of Kodak's strategy to leverage its
core intellectual property into mass-market consumer imaging applications, and
enhances TSMC's position as the largest CIS manufacturing foundry by providing
support for new technologies to meet the growing demands for the fast-growing
consumer markets such as digital still cameras and mobile
phones.
TSMC and Kodak - Agreement
Under the agreement, TSMC extends its industry
leadership in the manufacture of CIS devices with the inclusion of a number of
key proprietary Kodak technologies, including four-transistor (4T) pixel and
pinned photo-diode pixel architectures. These technologies are fundamental to
the development of a new generation of CIS devices that provide improved image
quality, performance and resolution, and enable the manufacture of CIS pixels
that approach the size of the smallest charged-coupled device (CCD) pixels
offered today. The CIS manufacturing process licensed under this agreement will
be utilized by Kodak as well as other sensor design firms under the terms of the
agreement.
TSMC - CMOS image sensors
"As the leading foundry for CMOS image
sensors, TSMC is committed to providing the most advanced CIS technology for our
customers," said Ken Chen, Director of Mainstream Technology Marketing at TSMC.
"This agreement with Kodak will allow TSMC to continue our leadership position
in CIS by supporting manufacture of the most advanced, state-of-the-art CIS
designs, and to provide a licensed manufacturing platform to all CIS design
companies to meet the growing industry demands for image sensors used in digital
camera and mobile imaging applications."
Kodak - Meets demand for CIS devices
"This agreement further expands Kodak's
ability to meet the exploding demand for CIS devices used in consumer imaging
applications," said Chris McNiffe, General Manager of Kodak's Image Sensor
Solutions business. "Our agreement with TSMC augments our existing manufacturing
agreements, and again demonstrates Kodak's commitment to execute its digital
strategy. We are excited to be working with TSMC to support the manufacture of
CIS designs that utilize Kodak's core IP."
About TSMC
TSMC is the world's largest dedicated
semiconductor foundry, providing the industry's leading process technology and
the foundry industry's largest portfolio of process-proven library, IP, design
tools and reference flows. The company operates two advanced 300mm wafer fabs,
five eight-inch fabs and one six-inch wafer fab. TSMC also has substantial
capacity commitments at its wholly-owned subsidiary, WaferTech and TSMC
(Shanghai), and its joint venture fab, SSMC. In early 2001, TSMC became the
first IC manufacturer to announce a 90-nm technology alignment program with its
customers. TSMC's corporate headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Posted: Fri - July 8, 2005 at 09:40 AM