Corporate names for high-tech firms often sound as though a committee of cyborgs selected them after running recombinant morphemes through a Cray supercomputer. When Conexant Systems needed a moniker for its new foundry, though, the chipmaker came out, um, swingin'. The Newport Beach, CA–based manufacturer dubbed the spin-off after America's indigenous musical art.

The name Jazz Semiconductor struck "the right note, so to speak, early," notes Gwen Carlson wryly. The firm's spokesperson says Jazz "was the first and final choice." No cyborgs or nomenclatorial engineers were used, either; a Conexant employee came up with the name. Jazz will make high-frequency mixed-signal and RF chips on 200-mm wafers with Conexant's 0.35-µm BiCMOS and SiGe process technologies.

The tie-in "works on several levels," Carlson says. "Jazz is truly an American music phenomenon with international appeal and, of course, Jazz Semiconductor is an American foundry. We thought that tied in nicely, and we are working with an international client base." The word also connotes music of "creativity, vitality, and innovation," played by master musicians. "The combination of notes and rhythms is...a unique collaboration that creates a great experience for the listeners."

The mixed-signal and RF areas "are very innovative technologies," Carlson continues, without missing a beat. "Our business is a collaboration; not of notes, but of process technologies, and a partnership with our customers." So, in the argot, you might say Jazz and its customers will be trading fours.