IP provider S3 Group has licensed a video DAC to CMOS image sensor maker Aptina. Aptina provides image sensors to tier-one OEMs manufacturing and supplying digital cameras for mobile, automotive, camera, surveillance, and gaming applications. S3 Group leverages over 25 years of semiconductor-design experience in the development of its video DACs. The company specializes in high-performance, low-power ADC and DAC IPs; low-jitter PLL IP; flexible power-management IP; and comprehensive RF, analog sub-system, and AFE IP targeting a wide range of applications including wireless, wireline, consumer, green, and industrial applications. The S3 Group contribution to Aptina involved a customized, very low area, single video DAC supporting composite video. The video DAC comes from a family of devices that have been silicon proven on many different geometries supporting composite video, RGB video, and HDTV. "We chose S3 Group because of their expertise in DAC design, their extensive knowledge of the target process, the availability of a suitable DAC, their price competiveness, and that they could meet our delivery schedule," said Sion Quinlan, Aptina's Director of Circuit IP. "During the development, they kept us fully informed through scheduled project meetings and offered us excellent support during the integration and bring-up phase of our project." "Our mixed-signal IPs enable our customers to differentiate their end-products, reduce their design risk, and therefore accelerate their time-to-revenue. Aptina is recognized as an innovator in imaging [technology] and has a reputation for working with and deploying leading-edge technology for use in a wide range of products from smartphones to cameras to cars. Customers like Aptina enable S3 Group to remain at the cutting edge of high-performance mixed-signal development. We look forward to building further on this successful project." said Dermot Barry, VP Silicon, S3 Group. S3 Group Aptina
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