Department of Defense Accredits Novati’s Austin Wafer Fabrication Facility as Category 1A Trusted Foundry

Novati Technologies Inc. (“Novati”), a leading development center for high-performance photonics, MEMS, 2.5D/3D, III-V-on-Silicon and advanced nanotechnology products, today announced that its 68,000 sq. ft. wafer fabrication facility in Austin has been accredited by the Department of Defense (DoD) as a Category 1A Trusted Foundry.

This DoD accreditation distinguishes Novati as a trusted manufacturer of integrated circuits (ICs) for U.S. aerospace and defense applications. Category 1A is a select designation that has been granted to only nine CMOS fabs that exhibit the highest levels of process integrity and protection.

To ensure the trustworthiness of electronic components used for critical national security systems, the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) organization administers the Trusted Foundry program on behalf of the DoD. This provides a means for the DoD to assess the integrity and confidentiality of IC design and manufacturing processes, establishing stringent requirements spanning chain of custody assurance, supply continuity, and anti-tampering and anti-counterfeiting measures.

The Trusted Foundry program ensures that the U.S. government has guaranteed access to specialized, high-performance components. Novati’s wafer fabrication facility is designed to meet this requirement, supporting high-mix fabrication on 200mm and 300mm wafers, using novel materials, state-of-the-art technologies, and niche process variants that offer the high-performance characteristics that many new DoD applications demand. Novati builds MEMS, sensors, actuators, photonic and electro-optic devices, Infrared (IR) detectors, wide bandgap electronics, non-volatile memory, power semiconductors, Radio Frequency (RF) devices and a range of 2.5D/3D devices for aerospace and defense customers.

“Today’s security applications for DoD demand suppliers who can meet the most rigorous requirements for utilizing non-traditional elements and support low-volume manufacturing,” said David Anderson, President and CEO for Novati. “We’ve proven that customers with really tough problems that require innovative materials, combinations of heterogeneous devices and high-risk processing techniques come to Novati. We regularly help develop products from concepts that have never been built before. The Trusted Foundry accreditation reflects our focus and strong commitment to supporting aerospace and defense contractors.”