Infineon, Tsinghua University team on R&D
By Sunray Liu, EE Times
Aug 2, 2000 (3:10 PM)
URL: planetanalog.com
BEIJING — Infineon Technologies AG has joined forces with Tsinghua University here to establish a research laboratory for microelectronics and applications. The partners said the lab will focus on design and development of RF CMOS ICs and systems-on-chip (SoC) as well as on training and applications development to promote the use of Infineon's microcontroller products among OEMs in China. Infineon said the lab will implement analog and mixed-mode IC technologies using standard CMOS processes. Products will include high-speed and high-definition A/D converters, CMOS RF chip design and CMOS integrated filters.
Other programs to be pursued by the joint laboratory include research into the application of microcontroller and digital signal-processing technologies for speech recognition and digital audio broadcasting.
Infineon said it will provide Tricore technology to advance state R&D projects in China. The training programs will focus on the design methodologies needed to assist engineering students in applying Infineon products.
"Regarding the potential growth of the semiconductor market in China, Infineon plans to expand the joint design lab into an applications lab," said Pow Tien Tee, Infineon's managing director for Hong Kong and mainland China. "Beginning in Beijing and Shanghai, [Infineon] will meet the demands of the future market in China by speeding up the transfer of technology."
Six faculty members from Tsinghua's electronics engineering department will oversee day-to-day operations at the lab. The department focuses on electronics science and technology as well as information and communications engineering. The university will also contribute its systems and software expertise for SoC development.
Tsinghua's engineering department operates three national labs, in the areas of integrated optical-electronic systems, microwave and digital communications, and intelligent technology and systems. It is cooperating with such partners as Lucent Technologies, ESS (Fremont, Calif.), and other Chinese companies to develop optical communications systems, high-definition TVs and set-top boxes.
The Infineon-Tsinghua joint lab has already made progress. It has developed several speech recognition applications based on Infineon's Tricore technology; DSP-based intellectual property (IP); and I/O controller and microcontroller cores for wireless, asymmetric digital subscriber line, industrial automotive and other SoC applications.
Tsinghua and Infineon will share rights to IP derived from the lab. "If an idea is proposed by Infineon and Infineon fully supports the project, then Infineon will have the commercial right to use [the resultant IP]," said Zhihua Wang, a Tsinghua University professor and director of the joint lab. "Tsinghua will have rights [to] academic usage." If a project is proposed by Tsinghua but supported by Infineon, the company's IP requirements will take priority. When a project is proposed and supported by Tsinghua and the resultant IP is developed using the joint lab facilities, the school will own all IP rights.
Other collaborationsInfineon also has an arrangement with Fudan University (Shanghai). That project has borne fruit in the form of new production technology, according to Infineon.
Tsinghua, meanwhile, has a three-way partnership with IBM China and Peking University. That deal, signed July 18, targets creation of a joint innovation academy, with a joint management board overseeing the facilities' projects.
The research facilities will focus on e-commerce technology, knowledge management and pervasive computing. IBM will provide hardware, software and researchers and will cover operational expenses. The partners will share IP rights. |
