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Technology Stocks : Amkor Technology Inc (AMKR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Oravetz who wrote (699)	5/30/2000 11:43:00 AM
From: tech101	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1056

Amkor Helps Conexant Hit Full-Production Target for OC-48-Speed Internet-Backbone IC Tuesday May 30, 6:02 am Eastern Time Company Press Release High-Performance BGA package shrinks cross-point switch chip-count from more than 1,000 per system to fewer than 100 CHANDLER, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2000-- An internet cross-point switch that provides four times the number of input/output interconnections in less space and at lower cost is the result of a unique working relationship between Amkor Technology, Inc., (Nasdaq: AMKR - news) and Conexant Systems, Inc., (Nasdaq: CNXT - news). Conexant's industry-leading CX20462 68-by-68 cross-point switch integrated circuit (IC) for internet switches has reached production volumes in record time in a development program that resulted in first-time compatibility between silicon and package. Prior to the development of this switching package, the largest cross-point switch IC could handle only much lower density interconnects. Switches using industry standard 2048-by-2048 switching matrices with the Conexant chip and Amkor package require fewer than 100 CX20462 ICs to achieve the same functionality of 1,000 of the previous, lower density chips. The CX20462, which has four times more interconnects for both inputs and outputs, will significantly lower the cost and space requirements of new internet backbone switch designs. The key to enabling the Conexant chip to function in this switch is its integration into Amkor's high-performance ball grid array (HPBGA) package, which reliably connects the chip's hundreds of OC-48-speed (2.4 Gb/s) input/output (I/O) interconnects to a system board. In an internet backbone switch, each CX20462 cross-point switch IC can connect any of 68 high-speed bi-directional digital inputs to any of 68 bi-directional outputs in a footprint the size of a postage stamp. Achieving this breakthrough in IC density required a combined effort in which Conexant contributed its silicon BiCMOS chip-design expertise and Amkor contributed a package design that packs 580 connections capable of handling up to 3 Gigabit/sec data rates into less than two square inches. ``Amkor played a significant role in enabling Conexant's single-chip CX20462 high-isolation cross-point switch to cut the chip-count and power-consumption requirements of high-bandwidth, fiber-optic communications systems by 30 percent while boosting data throughput to as much as 3 Gigabits/sec,'' said Joseph Adam, Conexant's executive director of package development. The package for the CX20462 is a 35mm-by-35mm, 580 lead implementation of Amkor's HPBGA technology, based on a nine layer organic substrate. Amkor's HPBGA package targets very dense ICs. The current highest capacity HPBGA package can provide more than 1,000 leads in a 45-by-45-by-1.4mm form factor. With eight to ten (or more) metal layers in the package substrate, the package provides multiple planes for distributing signals, power and ground. This was particularly important in the CX20462, where virtually every signal I/O required its own power and ground connections. Brian Lynch, Amkor vice president of Advanced BGA products, said, ``The CX20462 is the first HPBGA product operating at this speed to ramp to full production and it met all its design objectives on the first pass. This is largely due to close coordination between Conexant and Amkor during the design phase and to our experience with advanced laminate packages,'' he said. ``For example, we were able to jointly establish optimally compatible chip bonding pad and package ball array configurations. ``We are seeing more and more demand for internet-enabling devices,'' he said. ``We look forward to the opportunity of developing even more advanced packages as the need for increased speed and reduced footprint grows.''