By Dr Mike Cooke

Toppan Photomasks and Cypress Semiconductor have agreed to jointly develop advanced photomask technologies supporting the production of high-performance integrated circuits at 65nm design rules and below. The companies also entered into a separate three-year supply agreement in which Toppan Photomasks is named as the strategic supplier to Cypress of commercial photomasks. Toppan Photomasks will supply Cypress with a majority of its photomask requirements for commercial production during the next three years. Both the joint development project (JDP) and the strategic supplier agreement are extensions of pacts the two companies signed in 2002.

Cypress produces ICs for the computation, mobile handset, network infrastructure, solar energy and automotive markets. Products include USB controllers, CMOS image sensors, timing technology solutions, Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC) mixed-signal arrays, WirelessUSB radio-system-on-a-chip devices, synchronous, fast and MicroPower static RAMs, high-efficiency silicon solar cells and modules and optoelectronic devices for printers and displays.