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FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
For the month of March No.3 2007
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD.
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
RAMAT GAVRIEL INDUSTRIAL PARK
P.O. BOX 619, MIGDAL HAEMEK, ISRAEL 23105
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F [X] Form 40-F [_]
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes [_] No [X]
On March 26 2007, the Registrant announces that Virage Logic and Tower
Semiconductor Agreement Provides Mainstream NVM Availability for RF and
Mixed-Signal Applications , attached hereto is a copy of the press release.
This Form 6-K is being incorporated by reference into all effective
registration statements filed by us under the Securities Act of 1933.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD.
Date: March 26, 2007 By: /s/ Nati Somekh Gilboa
--------------------------
Nati Somekh Gilboa
Corporate Secretary
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Michael Axelrod Melissa Conger
Tower Semiconductor USA Shelton Group
(408) 330-6871 (972) 239-5110 ext. 137
pr@towersemi.com mconger@sheltongroup.com
Sabina Burns Venera Cushman
Virage Logic McClenahan Bruer Communications
(510) 743-8115 (503) 546-1035
sabina.burns@viragelogic.com venera@mcbru.com
Virage Logic and Tower Semiconductor Agreement Provides Mainstream NVM
Availability for RF and Mixed-Signal Applications
SILICON PROVEN OFFERING PROVIDES CUSTOMERS TIME-TO-VOLUME ADVANTAGE FOR HIGH
VOLUME APPLICATIONS LIKE RFID
DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 26, 2007 - Virage Logic Corp. (NASDAQ: VIRL), the
semiconductor industry's trusted IP partner and pioneer in Silicon Aware IP(TM),
and Tower Semiconductor, Ltd. (NASDAQ: TSEM, TASE: TSEM), an independent
specialty foundry, today announced at the RFID World Conference in Dallas, that
the two companies have signed a license agreement that allows Virage Logic's
NOVeA(R) non-volatile memory (NVM) modules for radio frequency Identification
(RFID) and mixed-signal applications to be manufactured at Tower.
Through this agreement, Virage Logic and Tower are providing customers with
access to a silicon proven foundry source for both cost-effective prototyping
and high volume manufacturing of products requiring a modest amount of embedded
NVM.
According to FROST & SULLIVAN, the potential for RFID-based industrial
manufacturing applications is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 13.3 percent from 2005 to 2012 in North America (Frost & Sullivan
Research Service, WORLD RFID MARKETS - INVESTMENT ANALYSIS AND GROWTH
OPPORTUNITIES).
"Virage Logic's expertise in mixed-signal and RF on standard 180nm CMOS
technology enabled achieving competitively small cell size with the low power
consumption," said Yossi Netzer, general manager of mixed-signal and RF product
line at Tower Semiconductor. "Having access to NOVeA's silicon proven
non-volatile memory should help Tower customers accelerate their time-to-volume
and time-to-market for cost-sensitive applications."
"The collaboration between Virage Logic and Tower Semiconductor has
resulted in NOVeA being designed into a high volume secure Flash memory card
design using Tower to fabricate the silicon and another Tower customer has
received EPCglobal certification on a Gen2 RFID tag using NOVeA technology,"
said Pat Lasserre, director of NOVeA marketing for Virage Logic. "With this
latest agreement, we are pleased to expand our proven partnership and offer our
mutual customers another leading foundry source for mixed-signal and RF
silicon."
This news follows Virage Logic's recent announcement about the availability
of the next generation NOVeA, (VIRAGE LOGIC LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION EMBEDDED
NON-VOLATILE MEMORY, January 29, 2007), that helps provide designers of consumer
and secure applications with significant area and power reductions.
The Virage Logic NOVeA IP experts will be exhibiting at RFID World in
Dallas on March 27-28, 2007 in booth #1511. For more information on the
conference, go to: http://www.rfid-world.com/rfid/default.asp.
ABOUT NOVEA
The next generation NOVeA, based on the existing NOVeA bit cell, addresses the
unique requirements of consumer and secure applications. As in previous releases
of the product, NOVeA can be manufactured on a standard CMOS logic process. This
new product expands the density to 16K bits, allowing EEPROM replacement in many
applications. As in previous generations, NOVeA requires no additional masking,
process steps or process modifications. It can be manufactured on a standard
CMOS logic process thereby making it ideal for cost-sensitive consumer and
secure applications such as digital rights management (DRM) that require less
than 16K bits of non-volatile memory.
One-time programmable applications, such as programmable fuses, device ID or
device options can also benefit from NOVeA. Unlike pure one time programmable
solutions, NOVeA offers 100 percent verification at test. Pure one time
programmable devices are not verified at test if they are shipped unprogrammed
to the end customer application. NOVeA allows for device programming and thus
verifies at test before erasing and shipping it unprogrammed to end
applications. NOVeA is reprogrammable in-system up to 100,000 times and has
specified endurance for 10 years at 125 degrees Celsius.
ABOUT TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD.
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM, TASE: TSEM) is a pure-play independent
specialty wafer foundry established in 1993. The company manufactures integrated
circuits with geometries ranging from 1.0 to 0.13-micron; it also provides
complementary technical services and design support. In addition to digital CMOS
process technology, Tower offers advanced non-volatile memory solutions,
mixed-signal and RF-CMOS, and CMOS image-sensor technologies. To provide
world-class customer service, the company maintains two manufacturing
facilities, each with standard and specialized process technology processes: Fab
1 ranging from 1.0 to 0.35 and Fab 2 featuring 0.18 and 0.13-micron. Tower's web
site is located at http://www.towersemi.com.
ABOUT VIRAGE LOGIC
Founded in 1996, Virage Logic Corporation (NASDAQ:VIRL) rapidly established
itself as a technology and market leader in providing advanced embedded memory
intellectual property (IP) for the design of complex integrated circuits. Today,
as the semiconductor industry's trusted IP partner, the company is a global
leader in IP platforms comprising embedded memories, logic, and I/Os, and is
pioneering the development of a new class of IP called Silicon Aware IP(TM).
Silicon Aware IP tightly integrates Physical IP (memory, logic and I/Os) with
the embedded test, diagnostic, and repair capabilities of Infrastructure IP to
help ensure manufacturability and optimized yield at the advanced process nodes.
Virage Logic's highly differentiated product portfolio provides higher
performance, lower power, higher density and optimal yield to foundries,
integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and fabless customers who develop
products for the consumer, communications and networking, hand-held and
portable, and computer and graphics markets. The company uses its
FirstPass-Silicon(TM) Characterization Lab for certain products to help ensure
high quality, reliable IP across a wide range of foundries and process
technologies. The company also prides itself on providing superior customer
support and was named the 2006 Customer Service Leader of the Year in the
Semiconductor IP Market by Frost & Sullivan. Headquartered in Fremont,
California, Virage Logic has R&D, sales and support offices worldwide.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT FOR VIRAGE LOGIC UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION
REFORM ACT OF 1995:
STATEMENTS MADE IN THIS NEWS RELEASE, OTHER THAN STATEMENTS OF HISTORICAL FACT,
ARE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, INCLUDING, FOR EXAMPLE, STATEMENTS RELATING TO
INDUSTRY AND COMPANY TRENDS, BUSINESS OUTLOOK AND PRODUCTS. FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO A NUMBER OF KNOWN AND UNKNOWN RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES,
WHICH MIGHT CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE EXPRESSED OR
IMPLIED BY SUCH STATEMENTS. THESE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES INCLUDE VIRAGE LOGIC'S
ABILITY TO IMPROVE ITS OPERATIONS; ITS ABILITY TO FORECAST ITS BUSINESS,
INCLUDING ITS REVENUE, INCOME AND ORDER FLOW OUTLOOK; VIRAGE LOGIC'S ABILITY TO
EXECUTE ON ITS STRATEGY TO BECOME A PROVIDER OF SEMICONDUCTOR IP PLATFORMS;
VIRAGE LOGIC'S ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP NEW PRODUCTS AND MAINTAIN AND
DEVELOP NEW RELATIONSHIPS WITH THIRD-PARTY FOUNDRIES AND INTEGRATED DEVICE
MANUFACTURERS; ADOPTION OF VIRAGE LOGIC'S TECHNOLOGIES BY SEMICONDUCTOR
COMPANIES AND INCREASES OR FLUCTUATIONS IN THE DEMAND FOR THEIR PRODUCTS; THE
COMPANY'S ABILITY TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH ESTABLISHING
LICENSING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANIES; THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO
OBTAIN ROYALTY REVENUES FROM CUSTOMERS IN ADDITION TO LICENSE FEES, TO RECEIVE
ACCURATE INFORMATION NECESSARY FOR CALCULATING ROYALTY REVENUES AND TO COLLECT
ROYALTY REVENUES FROM CUSTOMERS; BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS GENERALLY AND
IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY IN PARTICULAR; COMPETITION IN THE MARKET FOR
SEMICONDUCTOR IP PLATFORMS; AND OTHER RISKS INCLUDING THOSE DESCRIBED IN THE
COMPANY'S ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2006,
AND IN VIRAGE LOGIC'S OTHER PERIODIC REPORTS FILED WITH THE SEC, ALL OF WHICH
ARE AVAILABLE FROM VIRAGE LOGIC'S WEBSITE (WWW.VIRAGELOGIC.COM) OR FROM THE
SEC'S WEBSITE (WWW.SEC.GOV), AND IN NEWS RELEASES AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS.
VIRAGE LOGIC DISCLAIMS ANY INTENTION OR DUTY TO UPDATE ANY FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS MADE IN THIS NEWS RELEASE.
ALL TRADEMARKS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS AND ARE PROTECTED
HEREIN.
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
THIS PRESS RELEASE INCLUDES FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO
RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES. ACTUAL RESULTS MAY VARY FROM THOSE PROJECTED OR IMPLIED
BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. A COMPLETE DISCUSSION OF RISKS AND
UNCERTAINTIES THAT MAY AFFECT THE ACCURACY OF FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
INCLUDED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE OR WHICH MAY OTHERWISE AFFECT OUR BUSINESS IS
INCLUDED UNDER THE HEADING "RISK FACTORS" IN OUR MOST RECENT ANNUAL REPORT ON
FORM 20-F, FORMS F-1, F-3 AND 6-K, AS WERE FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION AND THE ISRAEL SECURITIES AUTHORITY. WE DO NOT INTEND TO
UPDATE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY OBLIGATION TO UPDATE, THE INFORMATION
CONTAINED IN THIS RELEASE.