1998-11-09 , ESC-9868
Technology News From Philips Semiconductors

Philips Semiconductors, the largest European semiconductor company, announces the creation of a new silicon chip technology called QUBiC3 that works up to 50 percent faster than competing technologies and at two-thirds the cost. QUBiC3 makes it possible to manufacture chips that can handle much more data and provide better, more reliable mobile communications links than ever before. This technology can even handle the data rates needed for video, making realistically priced, wristwatch-sized videophones possible in the near future.

"As more and more people work on the move, they need better, more effective mobile communications systems," explained Theo Claasen, Philips Semiconductors' Chief Technology Officer. "To improve mobile phones and make them smaller, lighter, cheaper and less power-hungry, the silicon chip technology at the heart of these systems needs to become faster and more energy efficient. Chips made on QUBiC3 will use a technology platform that can achieve speeds of up to 70 billion operations per second, placing them among the world's fastest.

"Until now, such speeds could only be achieved by special, very expensive chips made from hard to manufacture materials. We have pushed the performance of silicon to new standards for speed but not at the expense of power consumption or a premium price. A whole new generation of high performance mobile communications devices are now possible using QUBiC3 chips, such as a 'wrist-phone' that enables you to check data on the Internet, place a 'video' telephone call, and transmit data, software or video clips."

Philips Semiconductors expects that, because its QUBiC3 technology offers many opportunities for better phones, it will rapidly be integrated into the next generation of mobile phones and telecommunications systems. Its ultra high speed operation also makes it suitable for other demanding applications such as fibre-optic transmission systems and multimedia applications such as digital video.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the ninth largest semiconductor supplier in the world and the third largest supplier of discretes in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs.

For more information, see also BG9804: Philips Semiconductors' new QUBiC3 process technology sets the benchmark for the world's fastest silicon BiCMOS with an f_max of 70GHz