14 DAY TRIAL // ARM Holdings and Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry UMC have just announced they signed a long term agreement that provides customers of the latter with access to the advanced ARM Artisan physical IP solutions validated on UMC's 28HPM process technology.
As a results, UMC's customers will be able to build ARM-based system-on-chip (SoC) devices using the latest process technology.
According to UMC, the ultra-low leakage high-K metal gate structure used for the 28HPM process is designed to offer many options for device voltages, memory bit-cells, underdrive, and overdrive capabilities.
All these capabilities should be great for SoC designers as they would be able to offer both high performance and extended battery life.
UMC will start the pilot production of the 28HPM process technology in mid-2012, but is still unclear when the foundry plans to begin fabricating 28nm chips for revenue.
The 28nm process technology developed by the Taiwanese foundry targets a wide range of applications which include various portable devices, such as mobile and wireless, and high performance applications, such as digital home and high-speed networking.
"We are delighted to expand our long-standing relationship with ARM, which spans over 10 years,” said S. C. Chien, vice president of customer engineering & IP development design support divisions at UMC.
“This UMC-sponsored development will provide customers with access to the most comprehensive ARM physical IP solutions on UMC's versatile and robust process technologies. This will enable faster time-to-market for critical market segments.
“The cooperation further demonstrates our commitment to deliver industry leading resources for customers designing into UMC's most advanced 28nm process node," concluded the company's rep.
UMC hasn't yet disclosed the names of the foundry's customers that plan to use its advanced 28nm HPM process to build ARM-based system-on-chip (SoC) devices. (via Xbit Labs)
