Freescale and STMicroelectronics, two semiconductor suppliers to the automotive industry, are teaming up to establish a wide-ranging initiative to reinforce their respective strengths in automotive applications. The two companies will create a joint microcontroller design team, align process technologies, and share intellectual property, including high-power MOS technologies.

The agreement between the companies covers high-performance, cost-effective 32-bit microcontrollers based on PowerPC cores; the basic Intellectual-Property (IP) for automotive and navigation applications; alignment of 90-nm embedded Flash process technology; and high-voltage Power MOSFET (Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors) and IGBT (Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor) technologies.

The jointly designed products will use the PowerPC architecture with ST and Freescale's expertise in embedded Flash, providing robust and cost-effective solutions to customers. At the same time, Freescale will use ST's high-power technologies for applications such as hybrid electric vehicles.

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