August 10, 2015, Seoul, Korea – Maxim Integrated (www.maximintegrated.com), a leader in analog mixed-signal semiconductors, announced today that it will participate in the “R-Car Consortium,” a partnership program hosted by Renesas Electronics of Japan, to further aggressively target the automotive market.

As the automotive industry rapidly evolves, the collaboration between processor-centric digital semiconductors and high-performance analog semiconductors that form the ecosystem is increasingly emphasized to implement cutting-edge automotive systems. In response to these key trends in in-vehicle electronics, Maxim Integrated has been expanding its investment in a broad portfolio of analog ICs for automotive applications. These include LED headlights, software-defined radios (SDRs), gigabit multimedia serial link (GMSL) solutions, battery management ICs, and power management ICs. Maxim's automotive ICs are supplied to numerous leading global automakers and automotive suppliers.

According to a 2014 study by the U.S. market research firm IC Insights, the automotive semiconductor market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 10.8% from 2013 to 2018, which is faster than the 6.8% growth rate of communications semiconductors and the 5.7% growth rate of ICs for industrial and medical equipment. This growth is driven by the popularity of hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs/EVs), advancements in semi-automated driving systems, and various advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication and camera capabilities.

Maxim Integrated's participation in Renesas' "R-Car Consortium" enables it to provide a cost-effective solution for configuring radio tuners with a single design that is compatible with all types of radio systems. This solution implements the industry's first direct digital connection between a system-on-chip (SoC) and an analog front-end in software-defined radio (SDR) applications, reducing the number of components previously required for baseband signal processing. This approach enables rapid digital signal processing in the SoC and is expected to become a key signal processing protocol for next-generation radios. Along with its PMIC and GMSL products, Maxim is strengthening its position as a provider of innovative solutions that create added value in the automotive ecosystem.

Maxim Integrated plans to further expand its automotive semiconductor business through its participation in the R-Car Consortium and collaboration with Renesas, a global semiconductor company. Osamu Takiguchi, Vice President and Country Manager of Maxim Integrated Japan, said, “Maxim’s automotive semiconductor business is entering a new phase through our participation in the Renesas R-Car Consortium. This is a new leap forward for Maxim’s automotive semiconductor business expansion, and we will develop cutting-edge solutions through collaboration with participating companies.” Additionally, Masayasu Yoshida, senior manager of the Automotive Information Strategy Division of the Automotive Information Systems Business Unit at Renesas Electronics, said, “Maxim’s participation in the R-Car Consortium is expected to enable innovative automotive systems by combining Renesas’ advanced SoCs with Maxim’s high-performance analog semiconductors.”

Maxim Integrated, a leading supplier of high-performance analog integrated circuits (ICs), is a unique semiconductor company that delivers value to customers by integrating diverse analog functions onto a single chip to create more energy-efficient and smaller systems. Maxim also leads the way in high-performance automotive ICs and sophisticated power management ICs, achieving success in the automotive market with its product lines for infotainment systems, ADAS, smart keys (keyless entry systems), and LED headlight drivers.