Foundry semiconductor company SK Key Foundry announced that it has recently developed a “Bi-SCR (Bidirectional Silicon-Controlled Rectifier)-based on-chip EMC protection technology” that can dramatically enhance the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of automotive semiconductors, and has begun full-scale mass production by applying it to its 0.13㎛ BCD process products.

With the rapid increase in the installation of electronic components in vehicles, securing semiconductor reliability with no malfunctions even under severe electrical stress conditions has emerged as a key challenge for the industry. Conventional protection devices have mainly been limited to controlling transient electrostatic discharge (ESD) that occurs during chip manufacturing or assembly processes.

In contrast, the technology implemented by SK Key Foundry is an innovative design solution that enables complete, autonomous control within the chip itself of harsh system-level EMC environments encountered during vehicle operation, as required by standards such as ISO 10605.

The most significant impact of this technology is that it has completed an “on-chip” solution that can effectively control EMC stress within the chip without the need for external protection components such as TVS (Transient Voltage Suppressor) diodes, which were essential in conventional system designs. The Bi-SCR structure, which offers flexible trigger-voltage adjustment and excellent high-current handling capability, delivers outstanding area efficiency. As a result, it excels in optimizing protection performance for automotive power semiconductors (ICs), which face stringent space constraints and demand high integration. This is expected to enable customers to elevate system protection performance to the highest level while reducing the number of components, thereby maximizing circuit design flexibility and space efficiency.

This achievement is seen as the result of combining SK Key Foundry’s accumulated automotive BCD process technology with its advanced EMC/ESD protection design capabilities. Building on the success of this mass production, the company plans to continue expanding its portfolio of protection devices based on high-voltage LDMOS, BJT, SCR, and diodes. Through this, it intends to broaden its market competitiveness across various automotive applications that require high reliability, including automotive PMICs (Power Management ICs), motor drivers, and power-control ICs.

Lee Dong-jae, CEO of SK Key Foundry, stated, “In the automotive semiconductor market, the focus is shifting beyond simple component-level performance to ‘EMC robustness’ in actual harsh in-vehicle electronic system environments as a core competitive factor,” adding, “The successful application to mass production marks a significant technological milestone that raises the reliability and system stability of automotive semiconductor products to a new level, and we will continue to strengthen our differentiated foundry competitiveness going forward.”

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