Business Cooperation with Trigence Semiconductor

Dec. 28, 2015

TDK Corporation announces that it has taken a stake in Trigence Semiconductor, Inc. (President: Junichi Okamura; subsequently referred to as Trigence Semiconductor), a company developing digital signal processing technology for a digital speaker system. The move is aimed at supporting development of digital speakers, and also expanding the market for TDK's semiconductor embedded substrate (SESUB) technology. The capital participation was done in collaboration with Intel Capital and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ).

Trigence Semiconductor has extensive expertise in analog to digital and digital to analog conversion, and is currently developing the Dnote signal processing technology for the realization of a digital loudspeaker. Digital sound sources contained for example on Compact Disc are usually converted into analog signals that are then amplified by an amplifier to drive the speakers of an audio system. By sending the digital signal directly to the loudspeaker, considerable savings in terms of power consumption are possible, along with reduced space requirements and improved sound. The technology developed by Trigence Semiconductor is already being licensed to Japanese audio manufacturers and has received high acclaim.

The semiconductor embedded substrate (SESUB) technology from TDK has been developed by combining extensive proprietary technological expertise in fine processing technology and materials technology gained in fields such as inductive devices and magnetic heads for hard disk drives. The application of advanced SESUB technology brings a number of advantages, including reduced board footprint requirements, smaller dimensions, lower height, and better thermal dissipation which contributes to a higher degree of design flexibility.

The use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets for enjoying music and video content has increased immensely in recent times. The combination of technologies such as Dnote from Trigence Semiconductor and SESUB from TDK allows the realization of smaller components and creates a synergy that enables users to enjoy higher quality music reproduction from mobile devices that are smaller and consume less power. In future, these technologies can be expected to become standard features of such devices.

Trigence Semiconductor has already been receiving support for its development efforts from Intel and INCJ, among others. In mutual cooperation with Trigence Semiconductor, TDK Corporation will promote the development of more compact solutions.

A digital speaker exhibit featuring TDK's SESUB technology will be part of the Trigence Semiconductor booth at the CES 2016 to be held from January 6 to 9, 2016 at Las Vegas.

Outline of Trigence Semiconductor

* Dnote is trademarks of Trigence Semiconductor in the United States, Japan and other countries.

About TDK Corporation

TDK Corporation is a leading electronics company based in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK's portfolio includes electronic components, modules and systems* marketed under the product brands TDK and EPCOS, power supplies, magnetic application products as well as energy devices, flash memory application devices, and others. TDK focuses on demanding markets in the areas of information and communication technology and consumer, automotive and industrial electronics. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. In fiscal 2015, TDK posted total sales of USD 9.0 billion and employed about 88,000 people worldwide.

* The product portfolio includes ceramic, aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, ferrites, inductors, high-frequency components such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter products and modules, piezo and protection components, and sensors.

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