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| Subject: STMicroelectronics--description March 2002 | |
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Author: The ST group was formed in June 1987 as a result of the merger between SGS Microelettronica of Italy and Thomson Semiconducteurs of France. |
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Date Posted: Saturday, March 29, 12:07:52pm STMicroelectronics is a global independent semiconductor company and is a leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivaled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence trends. ------------------------------------------------------------ In 2002, ST's net revenues were US $6.32 billion and net earnings were US $429.4 million. According to preliminary rankings for 2002 from market analysts, ST was placed among the top five semiconductor manufacturers worldwide for the second year running. Gartner Dataquest ranked ST as the fourth largest semiconductor company in the world and IC Insights and iSuppli ranked the Company fourth and third, respectively. According to the most recent data from independent sources, ST is also the world's leading supplier of analog ICs and MPEG-2 decoder ICs, and is ranked number two for non-volatile memories overall and at number four for Flash memory. In application segments ST is number one for ICs for set-top boxes and hard disk drives; at number two for smart cards and DVDs; at number three for automotive ICs; and finally, at number four for telecom ICs. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Company's products are manufactured and designed using a broad range of fabrication processes and proprietary design methods. To complement this depth and diversity of process and design technology, the Company also possesses a broad intellectual property portfolio that it has used to enter into cross-licensing agreements with many other leading semiconductor manufacturers. ----------------------------------------------------------- ST has developed a worldwide network of strategic alliances, including product development with key customers, technology development with customers and other semiconductor manufacturers, and equipment and CAD development alliances with major suppliers. By augmenting its rich portfolio of proprietary technologies and core competencies with complementary expertise from a variety of carefully chosen strategic partners, ST has developed an unsurpassed capability to offer leading -edge solutions to customers in all segments of the electronics industry. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Company currently offers over 3,000 main types of products to more than 1,500 customers, including Alcatel, Bosch, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Motorola, Nokia, Nortel Networks, Philips, Seagate Technology, Siemens, Sony, Thomson and Western Digital. In 2002, approximately 69% of ST's revenue derived from differentiated products, a combination of dedicated, semi-custom and programmable products designed to suit a specific customer or a specific application and therefore having a high system content. This result reflects ST's exceptionally early recognition of the importance of system-on-chip technology, which is key for addressing the fast growing market for convergence products, and the success of the strategies it developed to ensure its leading position in this key emerging field. ---------------------------------------------------------- The ST group was formed in June 1987 as a result of the merger between SGS Microelettronica of Italy and Thomson Semiconducteurs of France. In May 1998, the company changed its name from SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics to STMicroelectronics. ---------------------------------------------------------- Since its formation, the Company has significantly broadened and upgraded its range of products and technologies and has strengthened its manufacturing and distribution capabilities inEurope, North America, and the Asia Pacific region. This capacity expansion is an ongoing process with the upgrading of existing facilities and the creation of new 8-inch, sub-micron fabs around the world. ST currently has five 8-inch fabs in operation in: Rousset (France); Agrate Brianza, R2 (Italy); Crolles (France); Phoenix (Arizona); and Catania (Italy). In addition, a sixth 8-inch fab is currently ramping up in Singapore. Furthermore, a new 12-inch manufacturing facility is currently under construction in Catania and the company is now close to completing a 12-inch pilot line called Crolles2, in partnership with the semiconductor arms of Philips and Motorola. The Crolles2 operation is also host to the joint development program between the three companies to develop leading-edge CMOS process technology down to the 32nm node, in conjunction with TSMC for process alignment. ----------------------------------------------------------- The group totals more than 43,000 employees, 16 advanced research and development units, 39 design and application centers, 17 main manufacturing sites and 88 sales offices in 31 countries. ----------------------------------------------------------- Corporate Headquarters, as well as the headquarters for Europe and for Emerging Markets, are in Geneva. The Company's U.S. Headquarters are in Carrollton (Dallas, Texas); those for Asia/Pacific are based in Singapore; and Japanese operations are headquartered in Tokyo. ---------------------------------------------------------- To guarantee continued technological development and consistently offer customers true leading-edge products, ST each year invests a significant proportion of its sales in R&D and capital expenditures. In 2002, maintaining a consistently high level, it spent US $1,022.3 million (16.2% of revenues) in research and development. ST filed 680 patent applications in 2002, maintaining its track record as one of the industry's most prolific inventors. The new inventions protected with these filings covered a wide range of technologies, products and applications, in line with the broad range supplier mission of the Company. ST is also active in numerous collaborative research projects worldwide as well as playing a key role in Europe's advanced technology research programs such as MEDEA+, and its predecessors, MEDEA and JESSI. ----------------------------------------------------------- ST's technical, marketing and manufacturing strengths are matched and further enhanced by an unswerving commitment to Total Quality and Environmental Management (TQEM) that has earned prestigious awards around the world. Since 1991, the Company's sites have received more than 70 awards, of which 32 were for environmental issues. ----------------------------------------------------------- In addition to ST's previous honors for quality over the last few years - which include the Malaysian Prime Minister Quality Award, the Malta Quality Award and the European Quality Award - STMicroelectronics Asia Pacific was the winner of the 1999 Singapore Quality Award for Business Excellence; and the Company's US subsidiary STMicroelectronics Inc, was awarded the 1999 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest level of national recognition for quality that a US company can receive. And most recently, in February 2000, ST's Moroccan operations received the Morocco National Quality Award. ----------------------------------------------------------- ST's commitment to environmental responsibility has resulted in substantial reductions in the consumption of energy, water, paper and hazardous chemicals, increased recycling of waste products and a significant cut in CO2 emissions. In 1999, ST received the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Protection Award for its outstanding accomplishments in protecting the Earth's climate. In 2000, ST was ranked first in environmental management among 14 semiconductor companies by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors and received the only AAA ranking in eco-efficiency. And most recently, in October 2002, ST received the Seal of Sustainability from the Sustainable Business Institute and ST's back-end Malta plant received the Management Award for Sustainable Development as part of the European Awards for the Environment 2002, organized by the European Commission Directorate-General Environment. ----------------------------------------------------------- Since December 8, 1994, when ST completed its initial public offering, the Company has been quoted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: STM) and on Euronext Paris, and since June 1998 also listed in Milan on Borsa Italiana. The Company now has close to 900 million outstanding shares, approximately 64% of which are publicly traded on the various stock exchanges. The balance of the shares is held by STMicroelectronics Holding II B.V., a company whose shareholders are Finmeccanica of Italy and a French consortium comprising Areva and France Telecom. ----------------------------------------------------------- January 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------- The ST product range ------------------------------------------------------------ STMicroelectronics produces a diverse range of semiconductors - from single transistors to microprocessors with millions of components on the same 'silicon chip' - which can be found in many disparate products or environments - from high performance supercomputers to everyday items such as telephones, cars, toasters, or even light bulbs. ------------------------------------------------------------ The pervasiveness of the silicon chip is due to its unique ability to offer ever increasing functionality at a continually decreasing cost. As a result the world semiconductor market - which barely existed 30 years' ago - is now valued at an estimated figure close to US$140 billion. ----------------------------------------------------------- ST designs and sells almost every type of semiconductor, offering more than 3,000 main product types, ranging from single transistors to some of the world's most complex integrated circuits, where many millions of transistors are fabricated on a single chip of silicon. ----------------------------------------------------------- The product portfolio covers all of the major categories of semiconductor devices: dedicated ICs, microprocessors and semicustom, memories, standard ICs, discretes. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dedicated ICs ----------------------------------------------------------- These are integrated circuits that are designed for use in a specific application. Examples include modem chips, digital set top box chips, motor control circuits, audio amplifiers and even such highly specialized circuits as fluorescent lamp ballasts. ----------------------------------------------------------- Unlike custom ICs, which are designed for a specific application of a single customer, dedicated ICs are sold on the open market but they are often developed in close cooperation with lead customers. ST has been particularly successful in this area and a key factor in this success has been the close relationships it has formed with major customers such as Bosch, FIAT/Marelli, Northern Telecom and Seagate. Another important strength of ST in this area is the broad range of advanced, system-oriented technologies that its designers can draw upon. These include advanced bipolar, CMOS, BiCMOS, mixed signal and power technologies. The most recently announced proprietary technology - BCD5 - allows ST designers to combine analog, digital, power and non-volatile memory functions on the same chip, thereby allowing, for the first time, the creation of a true single chip system. ----------------------------------------------------------- One of the most important application areas for dedicated ICs is the rapidly expanding market for digital consumer products. These include multimedia PCs, set top boxes (STB), and digital video disc (DVD) players. At the heart of most of these products is the digital image compression technology known as MPEG. ST is the world's number one manufacturer of MPEG chips according to independent industry analysts Dataquest. The Company's leadership position in digital entertainment technology is a reflection of its vast experience in this area, its early entry into the market, and its ability to deliver the highest quality products at competitive prices. ----------------------------------------------------------- Microprocessors and Other Programmable Devices ST offers a comprehensive range of microprocessors and programmable devices, ranging from robust 8-bit single chip microcontrollers that cost less than a dollar in volume to 32-bit RISC and CISC microprocessors, multimedia accelerators and innovative processors that accelerate the special calculations required in the emerging area of fuzzy logic. The ST20 family, for example, is a range of 32-bit RISC products available as stand-alone microprocessors or as cores that can be integrated with other circuitry to form dedicated ICs with powerful on-board computing capability. This facility is used by ST designers to develop state-of-the-art dedicated ICs for use in applications such as set top boxes and Global Positioning by Satellite (GPS) systems. ----------------------------------------------------------- ST is currently designing advanced multimedia processors based on the MPACT architecture developed by Chromatic Research. These processors will offer software-upgradable multimedia solutions for 2D and 3D graphics, audio, video, fax/modem, telephony, and videophone. ----------------------------------------------------------- Semicustom Products ----------------------------------------------------------- Semicustom devices are integrated circuits designed with the help of cell libraries and powerful Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. This technique allows devices that meet a customer's specific requirements to be developed quickly and cost-effectively by combining building blocks from libraries of tried and tested circuits. ------------------------------------------------------------ ST's strength in this area is due to its leading edge technologies (such as the 0.25-micron CMOS process) and its rich cell libraries, which offer not only the industry standard building blocks but also a range of powerful core and peripheral functions, including DSP, microcontroller and x86 microprocessor cores. For example, the D950 is the latest version of a DSP core that has been used in many high volume applications, including hard disc drives, GSM telephones and PC sound cards. ----------------------------------------------------------- Memories ----------------------------------------------------------- ST's main focus in the memory market is on non-volatile memories, an area that includes EPROM, EEPROM and flash memories. The Company is the world's number one supplier of non-volatile EPROM memories and is one of the top five manufacturers of flash memory. Other memory products include specialty SRAMs and ZEROPOWER battery backed memories. ----------------------------------------------------------- In 1996, ST unveiled an important new memory technology called super flash technology. This is an innovative non-volatile memory technology which combines the features of flash and EEPROM, effectively using standard flash technology to provide full-featured EEPROM functionality. The technology is now being used for the production of 256k serial EEPROMs and is also being used to build devices that combine flash memory and EEPROM on the same chip. ----------------------------------------------------------- Smartcards are among the most important applications of EEPROM technology and ST is a world leader in this market. In 1996, the company's cumulative shipments of smartcard chips passed the one billion mark. Another important milestone in the smartcard market occurred in 1996 when an ST device for use in French bank cards became the first smartcard IC to be awarded a certification under Europe's Information Technology Security Evaluation Criteria (ITSEC), confirming that the ability of the chip to meet the application's challenging security targets had been officially confirmed by independent, accredited experts. ----------------------------------------------------------- Standard ICs ----------------------------------------------------------- ST offers a broad range of devices such as op amps, comparators, voltage regulators and logic functions such as NAND gates and inverters which perform standard functions that are used in all types of applications. In recent years, the Company has achieved great success in the standard linear market, raising its market share from 3.1% in 1991 to 6.9% in 1995 (World Semiconductor Trade Statistics figures). Results for the same period from another independent source, Dataquest, also show a rise in world ranking from No. 13 (1991) to No. 4 (1995). ----------------------------------------------------------- Discretes ----------------------------------------------------------- Discrete devices can be made to handle greater power levels and higher voltages than integrated circuits and their main use is to act as power switches and power amplifiers. ST is one of the world's leading suppliers of discrete power devices, with a product range that includes MOSFETs, bipolar transistors, IGBTs and triacs. ----------------------------------------------------------- Although discretes are often considered to occupy the less glamorous end of the semiconductor product spectrum, ST has contributed significantly to advancing the state-of-the-art in this area. For example, in 1996 the company announced a new technology known as Mesh Overlay that significantly improves the performance of power MOSFETs, leading to smaller die sizes, lower costs and higher performance. ----------------------------------------------------------- Applications ----------------------------------------------------------- The list of applications for semiconductors is growing continuously and ST products are used in almost every application. Computer systems, multimedia products, telephone networks, consumer goods, industrial control systems, automobiles and medical equipment can all be found with ST products inside. Applications can even be found in outer space. ------------------------------------------------------------ Examples of ST's products used in the main applications are listed below: ------------------------------------------------------------ Computer ----------------------------------------------------------- x86 microprocessors; disk drive control; memories; display control ICs; graphics chips; computer networking ICs; multimedia devices, such as MPEG decoders and 3D graphic accelerators. ----------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunications ----------------------------------------------------------- Telephone set ICs; circuits for PABX and central switching; mobile telephone ICs; fax chips; circuits for videophone and videoconferencing systems. ----------------------------------------------------------- Consumer ----------------------------------------------------------- ICs for video recorders, hi-fi systems, TV and satellite receivers; chips for kitchen appliances, such as food processors, washing machines and toasters; heating control and home automation ICs. ----------------------------------------------------------- Automotive ----------------------------------------------------------- ICs for automotive systems, such as engine control, airbag, ABS, in-car entertainment, safety and control; circuits for toll systems. ----------------------------------------------------------- Industrial ----------------------------------------------------------- Intelligent power circuits for robots, motors and control systems; ICs for factory automation systems; chips for lighting and battery chargers; power supply ICs. ----------------------------------------------------------- March 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------- [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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