GCT implements UMC's 0.25Micron RFCMOS Process
Successful demonstration of Bluetooth and PLL circuits paves the way
for high volume manufacturing that will stimulate wireless LAN marketplace
Santa Clara, CA - April 9, 2001 - GCT Semiconductor today announced the successful implementation of Bluetooth standards using UMC's quarter micron RFCMOS process. Testing and characterization efforts at GCT have confirmed that UMC has successfully manufactured prototypes of GCT's RFCMOS Bluetooth chipset. The proprietary design techniques developed at GCT will allow the company to take advantage of standard RF CMOS manufacturing capabilities to implement new wireless components for Bluetooth, Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) and IS-95C systems.
"This manufacturing partnership with UMC has provided an excellent demonstration of the power of innovative design techniques when combined with state-of-the-art manufacturing strengths," said Mr. Kisub Lee, president and CEO of GCT Semiconductor, Inc. "We decided to use UMC because of its reputation as the foundry industry technology leader. The ease with which we were able to manufacture our RFCMOS Bluetooth chipset is testimony to the fidelity of UMC's process and technology.
GCT demonstrated the success of its Bluetooth chipset at the CeBIT Exhibition in Hannover, Germany, March 22-28. The GDM1100, Bluetooth Radio Chip lowers system cost and board space by integrating external components and improves performance with superior channel selectivity and image-free operations that meet strict requirements for adjacent channel power rejection (ACPR). The companion GDM1101b Bluetooth baseband IC implements generic access profiling. The on-chip 32-bit RISC microcontroller embedded in the GDM1101b is powerful enough to support full-featured Bluetooth communications. With products currently available for engineering evaluation, the GDM1100 and GDM1101b, along with an external flash memory, provide a complete Bluetooth solution, including a fully compliant Bluetooth software protocol stack.
"As a world renowned foundry with industry leading process technologies for RFCMOS manufacturing, UMC is sensitive to the needs of the wireless communications market," said Jim Ballingall, vice president of worldwide marketing at UMC. "UMC is proud to participate in the proliferation of the wireless communications boom by partnering with a design house as strong as GCT Semiconductor."
By taking advantage of the UMC manufacturing process, GCT has paved the way for affordable implementation of the Bluetooth radio standards. The ability to accomplish Direct Conversion RF on CMOS has overcome several of the obstacles faced when implementing a cost-effective wireless LAN capability.
About GCT Semiconductor, Inc.
GCT Semiconductor is a leading fabless semiconductor company that produces innovative integrated circuit solutions for the wireless communications industry. With its proven radio frequency (RF) CMOS and system-on-a-chip (SOC) expertise, GCT provides state-of-the-art single-chip CMOS RF transceivers, mobile digital TV receivers and Mobile WiMAX solutions serving 3G and 4G mobile system manufacturers by reducing BOM cost, lowering power consumption and minimizing total solution size. For more information, please visit www.gctsemi.com.