DALLAS -- Texas Instruments Inc. and Sweden's L.M. Ericsson announced Thursday a cross-licensing agreement to develop semiconductor components for telecommunications applications.
TI said it will share with Ericsson its knowledge, technical support and rights to manufacturing of sub-micron integrated circuits for Ericsson's telecom systems using TI's .5-micron and .35-micron process technologies.
A team of Ericsson process and equipment engineers is enrolled in a training program at TI's Dallas headquarters. The curriculum includes process and prototype developments, design rules and semiconductor manufacturing steps.
Ericsson plans to build a prototype semiconductor wafer fabrication facility at Kista, Sweden. The sub-micron facility will have a planned capacity of about 1,000 wafers per month and is expected to begin pilot production in 1994.
TI said it plans to meet Ericsson's volume production requirements through one or more of its advanced sub-micron facilities.
'This type of 'virtual vertical integration' between semiconductor supplier and end-equipment manufacturer could become a blueprint for alliances in the electronics industry,' said Roberto Schisano, president of TI Europe.
'Ericsson will gain significant time-to-market advantages, increased system performance, differentiation, and lower total cost over the end- equipment life cycle. TI, in turn, gains additional system expertise that will help us develop new components for telecommunications equipment,' he said.
TI and Ericsson have had a partnership since 1987, when they signed a principal cooperation agreement allowing Ericsson early access to TI's advanced semiconductor technologies and TI access to Ericsson's telecom systems knowledge.
