ARM, GlobalFoundries partner on 28-nm HKMG for Cortex-A9
With the agreement, GlobalFoundries said it will be the first foundry to work with ARM to enable a 28-nm Cortex-A9 SOC solution.
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- EDN, October 6, 2009
GlobalFoundries today announced another major deal, this time inking a relationship with ARM on processor implementation and circuit optimization to provide mutual customers with an enablement program geared toward next-generation applications and built around a full suite of ARM physical IP, fabric IP, and processor IP.
With the agreement, GlobalFoundries said it will be the first foundry to work with ARM to enable a 28-nm Cortex-A9 SOC solution, the collaboration's initial focus. GlobalFoundries will base its work on its HKMG (high-k metal-gate) semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. The foundry noted that at 28-nm it will be on its third generation of immersion lithography and its second generation of HKMG.
“This relationship further advances our strong focus to partner with industry leaders in processor design to deliver manufacturing and technology excellence at the leading edge,” said Doug Grose, CEO of GlobalFoundries, in a statement. “This highly complementary partnership leverages ARM’s architectural leadership along with GlobalFoundries advanced technology to enable the deployment of 28-nm SOC designs with exceptional performance for next-generation consumer devices.”
Today's agreement follows a July announcement from GlobalFoundries concerning a customer agreement with STMicroelectronics. In that deal, the AMD manufacturing spin-off secured STMicroelectronics as its first customer. The agreement focused on 40-nm low-power bulk silicon technology with first tape out and production of ST products by GlobalFoundries planned to start in 2010.
ARM and GlobalFoundries did not outline a timeline for their collaboration. GlobalFoundries also did not state if its work would be done in its existing Dresden, Germany, fab or at its coming New York State fab.
