Ridgetop Group has been delivering pioneering products, tools, and services for the semiconductor industry since its inception. Our offerings can be characterized as supporting Functionality, Yield, and Reliability, and providing Engineering services. Together they are what we call Semiconductor FYRE™.
Functionality: Analog and Mixed-Signal Design Blocks
Ridgetop has developed many intellectual property (IP) blocks, implemented on different processes including TSMC, ON Semiconductor, IBM (now GlobalFoundries), and X-Fab. Our analog/mixed-signal (AMS) designs include ultra-low-power and ultra-high performance data converters, high efficiency power converters, and innovative battery/fuel-cell management circuits, as well as many of the sub-blocks that these circuits are built from. Some of our IP cores are radiation-hardened by design (RHBD) and/or by process (RHBP). Collectively these IP blocks comprise our InstaCell™ library.
Yield: Independent Die-Level Fab Process Monitoring Tools
nanoDFM™ Design Flow Using PDKChek™
Since its founding in 2000, Ridgetop has pioneered the design and introduction of sophisticated die-level test structures. These test structures are precisely calibrated for specific foundry processes.
Ridgetop’s nanoDFM™ technologies apply advanced and patented in situ test structures and iterative improvements. By providing performance metrics and electrical testing, useful lifetime is increased, and yields improved. To do this, the most sensitive circuits must be identified as well as the mechanisms likely to have negative effects.
Ridgetop’s YieldMaxx™ tool provides visualization of the patented PDKChek™ die-level mismatch structures, so that you can easily identify and track:
- VT mismatch
- Ion mismatch
- Resistance mismatch
- Capacitance mismatch
Engineering Services
Ridgetop uses industry-standard IC design tools, including a complete Cadence design flow as well as tools from Mentor, Silvaco, and Tanner. We have designed AMS circuitry down to the 45 nm process node using different processes. Ridgetop can leverage the pre-designed and characterized IP blocks and sub-blocks in the InstaCell library that can be used to accelerate the time-to-market for your systems, or we can develop a full-custom design. Ridgetop develops both conventional and radiation-hardened circuitry.
Ridgetop also offers test and other support services, including device- and IC-level characterization using our own products (e.g., ProChek) as well as other tools. We offer training and support for the products and technologies we supply.
Ridgetop serves both commercial and government customers. For the DOD, Ridgetop has been certified as a Trusted Category 1A Supplier under the DOD’s Trusted Foundry program and has access to frequent shuttle runs. Ridgetop is fully acquainted with the demanding requirements from the DOD, NASA, DOE and their prime contractors. Our specialty is in the design of analog/mixed-signal circuitry that may also have some radiation-hard performance requirements.
Ridgetop Group, Inc. is an AS9100D- and ISO9001:2015 Certified organization that provides advanced, high-performance designs to its customers. The designs provided by our organization have been diverse, including both PCB- and IC-based solutions. Some of the designs have been applied in very harsh aerospace environments.
Click here for more information on Ridgetop design services.
For more information, contact us directly, or follow the links below to discover more about Ridgetop’s products and services for the semiconductor industry.
Overviews & Catalogs
Related Pages
- InstaCell IP Core Library
- PDKChek™ Foundry-Independent Die-Level Monitor
- YieldMaxx™ Die-Level Process Monitor Visualization
- Sentinel Silicon™ Die-Level Reliability Monitors
- Ridgetop Design Services
Selected Product Briefs
- PDKChek™ Independent Die-Level Monitor
- YieldMaxx™ Design for Manufacturing Die-Level Process Monitor (DLPM) Data Analysis Tool
- 14-bit ADC/VGA, 40 MS/s, TSMC 180 nm IP Core
- Rad-Hard Adjustable Sample Rate ADC, 12-bit, Ultra-Low Power
- NBTI Prognostic Cell
- SJ BIST™ for Custom Applications
Ridgetop is certified as category 1A under the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) as part of the Trusted Supplier Program. Ridgetop has history of designing analog and mixed signal ICs for demanding applications in space satellites that are subjected to extreme temperatures and radiation. Our designs have utilized bulk CMOS, CMOS-SOI, and SiGe at process geometries down to 28 nm channel lengths. Radiation hardness is also a concern, and Ridgetop has addressed those requirements as well. A recent Ridgetop design was delivered to ON Semiconductor for the U.S. Air Force STELLAR Star Tracker.
Under contract to NASA, Ridgetop designed an effective 3-axis wireless rotational sensor. The RotoSense™ sensor has been tested on fast-spinning pinion gears on helicopter gear boxes, and also rolling stock for railroad safety improvements.