Company: TSEM
Filing Date: 2025-04-30
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001178913-25-001537
Chunk: 145

Company: TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD
Filing Date: 2025-04-30
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 145
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 proven track record in analog/mixed-signal markets enable us to effectively compete with larger foundry service providers.
 
Some semiconductor companies have advanced their CMOS designs, including mixed-signal to 28 nanometers and below. These smaller geometries may offer customers performance and integration features that are comparable to or exceed those offered by our specialty process technologies and may be more cost-effective at higher production volumes for certain applications, such as when a large amount of digital content is required in a mixed-signal semiconductor and less analog content is required. Our specialty process technologies will therefore compete with these advanced CMOS processes, and some of our potential and existing customers could elect to design these advanced CMOS processes into their next-generation products. We are not currently capable, nor do our current plans include any technology or operations using CMOS processes at such smaller geometries.
 
 WAFER FOUNDRY SERVICES
 
The wafer foundry service mode of work is an intricate process that consists of constructing layers of conducting and insulating materials on raw wafers in intricate patterns. This requires hundreds of interrelated steps performed on different types of equipment, and each step must be completed with extreme accuracy to achieve the required device performance metrics. The process can be summarized as follows:
Circuit Design. This process begins when a fabless company or IDM designs (or engages a third party or us to design) the layout of a device’s components and designates the interconnections between each component. The result is a pattern of components and connections that defines the function of the end product. After the product design is completed, foundries provide processing services for these companies’ device designs.
Mask Making. The design for each layer of a semiconductor wafer is imprinted on a photographic negative, called a reticle or mask, which serves as the blueprint for each specific layer of the semiconductor wafer. We engage external mask shops for the manufacture of these masks.
Wafer Processing. This involves a series of processes in which photosensitive material is deposited on the wafer and exposed to light through a mask, including hundreds of steps (moves) per wafer, such as photolithography, oxidation, etching, stripping of different layers and materials, ion implantation, deposition of thin film layers, chemical mechanical polishing, and thermal processing. The final step is wafer probing, which involves inspection of each unit in order to identify those that are operable for assembly. Customers often use third-party service providers for the performance of wafer probing.
Assembly and Test. In this phase