14 DAY TRIAL // IBM have licensed their latest 45-nanometer technology to Chinese foundry provider Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC). The 45-nm bulk CMOS technology will be used by the largest Chinese chipmaker for building the next generation of processors to power mobile devices, graphics and consumer applications.
The process will be used for SMIC's 300-mm silicon wafers used in their own fabrication plants. The partnership is aiming at adding a plus of technology in China, since the country is already manufacturing gears for the vast majority of lower-tech products.
"China is a rapidly growing, strategic marketplace, and SMIC is the largest Chinese foundry," said Kevin Hutchings, IBM's vice president of intellectual property licensing, in a statement.
SMIC is located in Shanghai, and the company is one of the largest wafer fabrication facilities in China. The company's 300-millimeter wafer fabs are located in Beijing and Wuhan. The license will allow SMIC produce chips with 45-nanometer integrated circuitry, which would add some extra processing power as compared to the older 65-nanometer node. The new technology has been successfully implemented by Intel in November this year, while AMD products built with 45-nanometer technology are expected to emerge early next year.
The Shanghai enterprise did not estimate a production date for the 45-nanometer circuitry yet. Moreover, the company is very late in this market sector, as rival foundries Chartered, TSMC and UMC, have already announced the technology. More than that, TSMC has started rolling out its first 45-nanometer chips. However, rumors claim that SMIC will start producing the new generation of chips in late December this year or early January 2008.
"We are excited about the SMIC-IBM licensing partnership, which will accelerate SMIC technology advancement in logic process technology and help us provide optimal solutions for our customers at our 300mm facilities," said Matthew Szymanski, vice president of corporate relations for Shanghai-based SMIC, in a statement.