IBM and partners head to 32nm technology

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 24 May 2007 05:18

Your IT - Home IT

IBM, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics, Infineon Technologies and Freescale Semiconductor have extended their semiconductor process development and manufacturing agreements to include 32nm CMOS process technologies.

The new agreements run until 2010 and build upon previous collaboration on 90, 65 and 45nm technology. The acyual development work on 32nm will be performed at IBM's East Fishkill semiconductor fabrication facility.

The partners are aiming to deliver high performance parts suitable for handheld devices to supercomputers, featuring low standby power consumption. IBM, Chartered and Samsung will manufacture nearly identical chips, providing high-volume clients with multiple sources of supply.

"IBM remains convinced that collaborative innovation in an open ecosystem of partners is the key to technology leadership, both now and in the years to come," said Michael Cadigan, general manager, semiconductor solutions, IBM Global Engineering Solutions.

Chia Song Hwee, president and CEO of Chartered, added "The industry has recognized the value and importance of the collaborative model in driving robust, cost-effective solutions."

The cost of developing a new chip technology is in the billions, and Intel seems to be the only company with sufficiently deep pockets to go it alone. Other firms need to form partnerships to spread the cost and risk involved.

"Major new challenges are expected at the 32nm node, both in materials as well as device structures," said Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon, president, system LSI division, semiconductor business, Samsung Electronics. "We expect to deliver breakthrough technology by working together with our partners, who bring a variety of expertise as leaders in the industry."