June 20, 2012 -- TowerJazz today announced its industry leading 0.18-µm Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) process has been qualified to meet the certification requirements of the AEC-Q100 standard as defined by the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC). The AEC-Q100 system standard defines critical stress tests conducted for the purpose of qualifying an IC for automotive applications. TowerJazz attained AEC-Q100 qualification in cooperation with a Korean customer who serves as a supplier for a giant Korean automotive manufacturer.

"This latest milestone for TowerJazz is a formal recognition that our process platforms meet the rigorous quality and reliability standards required for automotive qualification," said TowerJazz CEO, Russell Ellwanger.

"Considering the direction of the Korean government and automotive manufacturers to localize the automotive semiconductor market, the AEC-Q100 qualification will enable us to serve the Korean automotive giants directly and indirectly through local Korean fabless companies," said Michael Song, TowerJazz Korea Country Manager. "In addition, it will bring more business opportunities to TowerJazz especially for power-management ICs including motor drive, LED drive, battery management and many others."