Go fabless
By Staff -- EDN, January 9, 2003
Back in ancient times—say, 20 years ago—you had to build a wafer-fabrication facility if you intended to create a semiconductor company. Times have changed. If you are contemplating a fabless semiconductor start-up or are working with a company that has decided to develop its own IC, The COT Planning Guide, Second Edition: Tips, Tactics and Strategies for Successful IC Outsourcing, by Anthony Simon and Ronald Vogel, can serve as your guide. "Going fabless" means you subcontract IC manufacturing to someone else, and you can do it in several ways. For most applications, the most cost-effective and technically efficient fabless model is the (COT) "customer-owned-tooling" model. Unlike the ASIC model, which relies on the layout and the manufacturing capabilities of an ASIC vendor, the COT model is about controlling your own destiny, working directly with pure-play foundries, and setting up your own supply chain.
But going fabless presents many issues that you need to be aware of, and this book guides you through them. For example, it tells you where and how to find IP (intellectual property); ensure that the IP is validated for a given foundry; develop a successful relationship with a foundry; develop a test strategy to ensure cost-effective production; set up and manage back-end services, such as package assembly and test; handle the logistics of shipping chips; and manage supply and forecast for your product lines. In dealing with these subjects, The COT Planning Guide helps you put together a project plan.
If you properly execute the COT model, it can level the playing field between fabless companies and older, established integrated-device manufacturers. This book can help readers understand the subtleties of the process and help them prevent missteps or outright disasters.
The first edition of The COT Planning Guide debuted in fall 2001. This second edition includes more information on design services; assembly, packaging, and test vendors; flip-chip designs; and other critical areas of the IC-outsourcing industry. It also provides articles by experts in various fields of semiconductor design and manufacturing. The guide (ISBN 1931541981) costs $49.95 and is available from retailers at www.GoFabless.com.
GoFabless, 1-408-961-7975, www.gofabless.com.
