SAN JOSE, Calif.--FSA, the voice of the global fabless business model, is hosting the 2006 FSA Suppliers Expo & Conference on Wednesday, October 11 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose. The event brings together thousands of semiconductor industry professionals from across the globe to generate, foster and strengthen proactive business partnerships.

The one-day education program features keynotes and panel discussions from industry executives addressing the various challenges and opportunities in the semiconductor industry. The program also includes the FSA Annual Briefing, featuring updates on FSA resources, trends and initiatives.

The exhibit includes almost 100 suppliers showcasing their products and services to nearly 2,000 executives, managers and engineers from semiconductor companies. Exhibitors represent a wide range of fabless industry suppliers, including providers of assembly and packaging; burn-in, test and failure analysis; business information systems; consulting/ research; design management systems; design software and services; electronic manufacturing systems; equipment; foundry; IP; photomask and supply chain management.

During the exhibit, FSA’s Booth No. 518 will feature several tools and initiatives, including:

FSA's Hard IP Quality Risk Assessment Tool

The new FSA Hard IP Quality Risk Assessment Tool enhances communication between intellectual property (IP) vendors and integrators (fabless companies) by providing a list of questions designed to evaluate the quality of third-party IP. The tool accumulates data about the vendor, the vendor’s design methodology and the particular IP being discussed. A resulting scorecard yields normalized results, qualitatively lowering “pain points” for the integrator.

The tool is currently in Beta review and testing. Members and non-members of FSA are invited to participate in the Beta program. FSA will host two 30-minute tutorial sessions in Room J1 at 12:15 p.m. and 3 p.m. The tool will be available to the industry at no charge.

System-in-Package (SiP) Market and Patent Analysis

FSA’s new SiP Market & Patent Analysis is designed to enhance industry awareness about SiP applications and technologies, providing an in-depth analysis of market perspectives and patent issues. The report covers all aspects of the SiP supply chains, from the technology, arrangement, configuration, materials use, types of SiP, applications and more. It also creates a patent portfolio reference of all leading patents in the industry space and identifies global leaders in various arenas of SiP applications. The research acts as a definitive guide to navigating the SiP landscape.

Document Control Systems & Operating Procedures

This valuable resource was designed by FSA to enable small- and medium-sized businesses to quickly and efficiently establish ISO 9000-2000-compliant procedures and help ease the transition from an engineering-based to a manufacturing-based operation. It provides a structure for control and naming of key documents, as well as key operating specifications and forms required by all fabless companies for finance, training, quality, document management and operations.

This year’s Suppliers Expo & Conference platinum sponsors include: AMI Semiconductor, ARM, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Impinj, Oracle, TSMC, UMC and X-FAB.

Media sponsors include: PennWell Corporation and Reed Electronics Group.

Onsite registration for the Suppliers Expo & Conference is $20. For additional information, visit www.fsa.org/suppliers_expo/usa2006/.

About FSA:

FSA is the voice of the global fabless business model. Incorporated in 1994, FSA positively impacts the growth and return on invested capital of this business model to enhance the environment for innovation. It provides a platform for meaningful global collaboration between fabless companies and their partners; identifies and articulates opportunities and challenges to enable solutions; and provides research, resources, publications and survey information. Members include fabless companies and their supply chain and service partners, representing more than 21 countries across the globe. www.fsa.org