Xtendwave Selects TowerJazz For The Manufacture Of Next Generation WWVB Atomic Timekeeping Signal Receiver Products

Xtendwave’s ICs to be used in clocks, watches, small appliances, automobiles, utility meters, personal electronics and other applications

Non-networked clock-enabled devices sold in US every year estimated at 200M units

TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, and Xtendwave, a fabless semiconductor company focused on the development of physical-layer communication technologies, recently announced the selection of TowerJazz to provide foundry support for Xtendwave’s EverSet radio controlled clock receiver products. EverSet products will be capable of receiving the new WWVB atomic-timekeeping broadcast developed by Xtendwave under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a government organization responsible for the transmission of the WWVB time signal. Xtendwave has designed radio receivers capable of receiving the WWVB signal with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) much lower than present designs. WWVB is the station that radio-controlled (“atomic”) clocks in the U.S. use for synchronization.

The new standard is currently being tested for potential broadcast across North America by NIST from its facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. Xtendwave’s EverSet technology will provide orders-of-magnitude improvement in reception compared to existing products based on the current broadcast format. Xtendwave’s design will be manufactured using TowerJazz’s TS18SL process in its Fab 2. EverSet ICs will be used in clocks, watches, small appliances, automobiles, utility meters, personal electronics and more, a market estimated at a total of about 200 million non-networked clock-enabled devices sold in the U.S. each year.

Xtendwave’s EverSet receiver technology provides manufacturers of clocks, watches, and other products with a cost-effective chip that can receive and decode the new WWVB broadcast and offers reliable timekeeping and ubiquitous reception across North America. The CMOS implementation of EverSet requires minimal external component count and also allows it to be integrated as an IP core into existing CMOS system-on-chip (SoC) solutions.

“By using TowerJazz’s CMOS technology, Xtendwave can offer a high-performance, costeffective receiver IC for the new WWVB broadcast standard,” said Ilan Rabinovich, Vice President of Customer Support and General Manager of CMOS Business Unit.

“We are very pleased to work with TowerJazz on our next generation atomic timekeeping signal products, as we believe their process offers great flexibility along with cost effectiveness,” said Dennis I. Robbins, President of Xtendwave. “We are thrilled to be at the forefront of technology for the next generation of WWVB atomic timekeeping as we continue to proactively address this growing market.”

About Xtendwave
Xtendwave, based in Dallas, Texas, is a fabless semiconductor company focused on the development of physical-layer communication technologies. These are based on both analog and digital signal processing methods, strategically targeted at enabling improved performance over various media through increased data rates, greater distances, and higher quality-ofservice. Xtendwave is currently engaged with customers in both the precise timekeeping industries and telecommunications industries. Xtendwave has strong collaborative relationships with leading universities, and is the recipient of numerous SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) awards from the U.S. government. For more information, visit www.xtendwave.com.

About TowerJazz
Tower Semiconductor Ltd., its fully owned U.S. subsidiary Jazz Semiconductor Ltd., and its fully owned Japanese subsidiary TowerJazz Japan, Ltd., operate collectively under the brand name TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader. TowerJazz manufactures integrated circuits with geometries ranging from 1.0 to 0.13-micron, offering a broad range of customizable process technologies including: SiGe, BiCMOS, Mixed-Signal and RFCMOS, CMOS Image Sensor, Power Management (BCD), and Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) as well as CMOS and MEMS capabilities. TowerJazz also offers a world-class design enablement platform that complements its sophisticated technology and enables a quick and accurate design cycle. In addition, TowerJazz provides Technology Optimization Process Services (TOPS) to IDMs as well as fabless companies that need to expand capacity, or progress from an R&D line to a production line. To provide multi-fab sourcing, TowerJazz maintains two manufacturing facilities in Israel, one in the U.S., and one in Japan with additional capacity available in China through manufacturing partnerships. For more information, visit www.towerjazz.com.