GlobalFoundries maps out 28nm future

GlobalFoundries has been laying out its schedule for moving into 28nm chip production, and has unveiled new ARM and Flash development plans.

The company will launch a set of 28nm High Performance Plus chips at the end of next year that promise a 10 per cent performance boost and a new RF CMOS design for system-on-a-chip building.

The mobile and small device market will also be addressed with a range of Super Low Power chips, according to Gregg Bartlett, senior vice president of technology and R&D at GlobalFoundries.

"We ramped to volume production at the 45/40nm generation well ahead of all foundries, and we are poised to maintain this leadership at 32/28nm with plans to extend this to the 22/20nm node," Bartlett told delegates at the company's first Global Technology Conference.

The first 22/20nm chips will begin volume production in 2013, and the testing of hardware chips for manufacturers and system builders is due at the end of 2012. All the chips will use High-K Metal Gate technology for faster processing.

GlobalFoundries used the event to show off its first ARM A9 Technology Qualification Vehicle, which allows final chip designs to be approved by manufacturers. The new chip was co-developed with ARM in Germany, and initial testing data is expected by the end of the year.

"As the industry adopts increasingly advanced process technologies, there is a growing need for close collaboration between design and manufacturing," said Simon Segars, executive vice president and general manager of ARM's Physical IP Division.

"Our partnership will enable customers to rapidly bring high-performance, low-power ARM designs to market on 28nm High-K Metal Gate technology."

GlobalFoundries also announced a joint deal with Freescale to develop thin film storage 90nm Flash memory chips. The first test chips have already been started, and the new designs will be signed off in the first half of 2011.

"Our partnership with GlobalFoundries will allow us to accelerate the industrialisation of our thin film storage technology, helping us remain at the forefront of embedded innovation," said Reza Kazerounian, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale's Microcontroller Solutions Group.