Month: June 2019

Power Solutions

Magnachip Introduces New Component to Enhance 5G/LTE Smartphone Battery Life and Protection

Low-Rss(on) LV MOSFET for Battery Protection Circuit Modules

 

SEOUL, South Korea and SAN JOSE, Calif., June 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (“MagnaChip” or the “Company”) (NYSE: MX), a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, announced today a new low-Rss(on)* LV (Low Voltage) MOSFET with reduced chip size for smartphone battery PCMs (Protection Circuit Modules).

Extended life and increased protection for batteries in high-end LTE and 5G smartphones are becoming increasingly important. 5G phones, in particular, need longer-lasting batteries with higher endurance than previous smartphones to process the massive amount of data with extremely fast download and upload capabilities. Inserted in the battery PCMs in LTE or 5G phones, this newly released MOSFET prevents over-voltage and over-current of the batteries and ultimately helps extend their life and resolve the overheating issue.

The Rss(on) of this new product, 20 percent lower than previous versions with the same chip size, prolongs the life of smartphone batteries by decreasing current loss and improving heat dissipation. This lower Rss(on) also enables higher-power density than previous versions to prevent over-heating of the battery during a quick charge (a feature supported by most of the latest smartphones). PCM functionality is also enhanced by an ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) protection diode added to the product. This diode mitigates ESDs of ≤ 2 kV to strengthen circuit protection and prevents damage to other smartphone components.

MagnaChip also has reduced the chip size of this new MOSFET by 10 percent (as compared to other LV MOSFETs currently on the MagnaChip portfolio), which offers greater design flexibility for circuit designers and even shrinks the PCM itself. With this reduction in size, WLCSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale Package) is possible for this product.

“Quick charging, fast processor speeds and other advanced specifications for new LTE and 5G smartphones require power products that provide superlatively high levels of battery protection,” said YJ Kim, CEO of MagnaChip. “We are working closely with the OEM community to decrease the footprint of our MOSFETs and incorporate other product enhancements to meet these objectives.”

* Rss(on): On resistance, the resistance value between the drain and source of a MOSFET during operation (ON)

About MagnaChip Semiconductor
MagnaChip is a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platform solutions for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. The company’s Standard Products Group and Foundry Services Group provide a broad range of standard products and manufacturing services to customers worldwide. MagnaChip, with about 40 years of operating history, owns a portfolio of approximately 3,000 registered patents and pending applications, and has extensive engineering, design and manufacturing process expertise. For more information, please visit www.magnachip.com.

CONTACTS:
United States (Investor Relations):
Bruce Entin
Entin Consulting
Tel. +1-408-625-1262
Investor.relations@magnachip.com

USA media / industry analysts:
Mike Newsom
LouVan Communications, Inc.
Tel. +1-617-803-5385
mike@louvanpr.com

Korea / Asia media:
Chankeun Park
Director of Public Relations
Tel. +82-2-6903-5223
chankeun.park@magnachip.com

Investors

Magnachip Semiconductor Provides Updated Guidance for Q2 2019 Financial Results

MagnaChip Semiconductor Provides Updated Guidance for Q2 2019 Financial Results

– Revenue now expected to be at least $194 million, as compared to previous estimate of $173-181 million
– Gross profit margin expected to be at least 21%, as compared to previous estimate of 16-18%
– Strategic evaluation process for Foundry business and Fab 4 remains ongoing

SEOUL, South Korea and SAN JOSE, Calif., June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: MX) today provided an update to its previous guidance for the second quarter of 2019.

Revenue in the second quarter of 2019, ending June 30, is now expected to be at least $194 million, and gross profit margin is expected to be at least 21%. This updated guidance for the second quarter compares to the Company’s previous guidance of revenue to be in the range of $173-181 million and gross profit margin to be in the range of 16-18%. The previous revenue guidance provided on April 30 in conjunction with the public release of the financial results for the first quarter of 2019 reflected an expectation at that time that revenue from MagnaChip’s OLED Display drivers would increase by approximately 30% and that revenue from the Foundry business would be flat, both as compared to the first quarter of 2019. However, revenue for both OLED Display drivers and 8″ Foundry services is now expected to substantially exceed the Company’s previously anticipated financial results for the second quarter. Revenue from Power standard products is also expected to be stronger than previously anticipated.

MagnaChip also stated today that the strategic evaluation of its Foundry business and Fab 4, the larger of the Company’s two 8″ manufacturing facilities, is ongoing. Fab 4 is an analog and mixed-signal fab that produces approximately 73% of the Company’s total capacity, and is used primarily to meet wafer demand from Foundry customers that rely on outside suppliers. As previously announced, the strategic evaluation includes a range of possible options, including, but not limited to, joint ventures, strategic partnerships and M&A possibilities.

MagnaChip’s updated revenue and gross profit margin guidance for the second quarter of 2019 is not a comprehensive statement of financial results, and actual figures may vary. The Company expects to announce full financial results for the second quarter on July 30 at 4:05 p.m. ET, and will host an investor conference call a 5 p.m. ET on the same day.

About MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation
MagnaChip is a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platform solutions for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. The Company’s Standard Products Group and Foundry Services Group provide a broad range of standard products and manufacturing services to customers worldwide. MagnaChip, with about 40 years of operating history, owns a portfolio of approximately 3,000 registered patents and pending applications, and has extensive engineering, design and manufacturing process expertise. For more information, please visit www.magnachip.com. Information on or accessible through, MagnaChip’s website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this release.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
Information in this release regarding MagnaChip’s forecasts, business outlook, expectations and beliefs are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include statements about our future operating and financial performance, including second quarter 2019 revenue and gross profit margin expectations. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to MagnaChip as of the date of this release, which may change, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include general economic conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, timely design acceptance by our customers, timely introduction of new products and technologies, ability to ramp new products into volume production, industry wide shifts in supply and demand for semiconductor products, industry and/or company overcapacity, effective and cost efficient utilization of manufacturing capacity, financial stability in foreign markets and the impact of foreign exchange rates, unanticipated costs and expenses or the inability to identify expenses which can be eliminated, compliance with U.S. and international trade and export laws and regulations by us and our distributors, and other risks detailed from time to time in MagnaChip’s filings with the SEC, including our Form 10-K filed on February 22, 2019 and subsequent registration statements, amendments or other reports that we may file from time to time with the SEC and/or make available on our website. MagnaChip assumes no obligation and does not intend to update the forward-looking statements provided, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACTS:
In the United States:
Bruce Entin
Investor Relations
Tel. +1-408-625-1262
investor.relations@magnachip.com

In Korea:
Chankeun Park
Director, Public Relations
Tel. +82-2-6903-5223
chankeun.park@magnachip.com

Power Solutions

Magnachip Launches 3-channel BLU LED driver for UHD TVs

SEOUL, South Korea and SAN JOSE, Calif., June 4, 2019 — MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (“MagnaChip” or the “Company”) (NYSE: MX), a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, announced today it has launched 3-channel BLU (backlight unit) LED driver for UHD TVs.

For high-resolution UHD displays, this new standard display product is designed to control the local LED dimming of up to 270 LEDs through a maximum of 90 LEDs per channel. In addition, it provides a dual dimming solution with Analog and PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) for efficient and stable LED dimming, which reduces power consumption and helps achieve a high contrast ratio in UHD TVs.

Analog dimming, a type of LED dimming technology, adjusts the brightness of the LED by controlling the amount of current flowing through the LED in a linear manner. With this solution, the LED color changes when the current fluctuates. By contrast, PWM dimming is a method to minimize the color change. MagnaChip’s new 3-channel BLU LED Driver is designed to selectively use analog or PWM dimming according to the image signal, thus providing the solution to realize high contrast ratio and power efficiency.

The BLU LED driver also provides for high current accuracy within ±1% tolerance by using the average mode of the current control technology. In addition, this product supports Low PWM Dimming by operating at 480 kHz High speed Switching Frequency to elaborately control the current in the dark area of the image with a narrow pulse width.

Other advantages of MagnaChip’s BLU LED driver are that it provides various circuit protection functions, including short-circuit protection and under-voltage lockout (UVLO) to attain high reliability. In addition, this product features over-duty protection, which keeps the PWM duty ratio (on/off ratio) constant. It also provides for current-sense resistor short protection, which prevents over-current from flowing into a specific area of the circuit. MOSFET drain-source short protection also detects and protects the shorts of the MOSFETs in the circuit.

YJ Kim CEO of MagnaChip said, “MagnaChip’s 3-channel BLU LED driver, which features low power and high contrast ratio, will enhance the product value of high definition UHD TV.” He added, “As the UHD TV market grows rapidly, we will continue to strengthen our display driver lineup by developing multi-channel BLU LED drivers that increase the number of channels as well as LED current accuracy.”

About MagnaChip Semiconductor
MagnaChip is a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platform solutions for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. The company’s Standard Products Group and Foundry Services Group provide a broad range of standard products and manufacturing services to customers worldwide. MagnaChip, with about 40 years of operating history, owns a portfolio of approximately 3,000 registered patents and pending applications, and has extensive engineering, design and manufacturing process expertise. For more information, please visit www.magnachip.com.

CONTACTS:
United States (Investor Relations):
Bruce Entin
Entin Consulting
Tel. +1-408-625-1262
Investor.relations@magnachip.com

USA media / industry analysts:
Mike Newsom
LouVan Communications, Inc.
Tel. +1-617-803-5385
mike@louvanpr.com

Korea / Asia media:
Chankeun Park
Director of Public Relations
Tel. +82-2-6903-5223
chankeun.park@magnachip.com