Certus Semiconductor Wiki

Certus Semiconductor, Inc.

Certus Semiconductor, Inc. is a privately held semiconductor intellectual property (IP) company that specializes in I/O (Input/Output) and ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) protection solutions. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Certus provides robust, silicon-proven interface IP tailored for integration in analog, digital, and mixed-signal system-on-chip (SoC) designs across a wide range of process nodes and foundries.

🔹 Company Overview

• Founded: Mid-2010s

• Headquarters: Austin, Texas, USA

• Industry: Semiconductor IP

• Core Expertise: I/O libraries, ESD protection circuits, interface and reliability IP

• Business Model: IP licensing, silicon customization, and engineering support

🧠 Technology & Product Portfolio

Certus focuses exclusively on customizable I/O and ESD IP, enabling semiconductor companies to meet demanding specifications for reliability, performance, and standards compliance. Its IP is used in applications requiring rugged interface protection, high-voltage tolerance, low-leakage operation, and support for high-speed signaling.

Key IP Offerings:

• I/O Libraries

  • General-purpose I/Os for a wide voltage range (e.g., 1.8V, 3.3V, 5V)

  • Specialty I/Os for high-speed, low-power, or mixed-voltage domains

  • Configurable drive strength, slew rate, and on-chip termination options

• ESD Protection IP

  • Human Body Model (HBM), Charged Device Model (CDM), and IEC protection

  • Clamp circuits, pad ring solutions, and interface-specific protection

  • Custom-designed to meet customer ESD robustness specifications

• Specialty Circuits

  • Level shifters

  • Fail-safe receivers

  • Over-voltage tolerant drivers

  • Isolated and dual-rail signaling interfaces

🧩 Process and Foundry Support

Certus IP is designed to be foundry-agnostic and supports a wide range of CMOS, FinFET, and SOI processes across leading fabs. The company delivers production-proven IP across technology nodes from 180nm to 5nm and collaborates with customers targeting high-reliability or high-performance applications.

Each IP library is customized for the specific PDK, EDA flow, and reliability requirements of the target process, with design kits provided in standard formats and backed by integration support.

🎯 Target Applications

Certus Semiconductor’s IP is used in SoCs and ASICs across a variety of market segments, including:

• Automotive Electronics – Safety-critical systems with extended temperature and ESD performance

• Industrial & Medical – Harsh environments and mission-critical reliability

• Consumer Electronics – High-volume mobile, wearable, and edge devices

• Networking & Telecom – Mixed-signal and high-speed digital interfaces

• IoT and Edge AI – Ultra-low-power I/O and resilient protection features

🧠 Company Strengths

• I/O and ESD Focus: Deep specialization enables finely tuned, process-optimized designs

• Customization: IP tailored to customer layout, packaging, and ESD methodology

• Silicon Proven: Production success across numerous foundries and product classes

• Compliance: Designs meet industry standards and customer-specific ESD/EMC requirements

• Agile Support: Close engineering collaboration and rapid turnaround

📋 Summary Table

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