Date: 15/06/2010

High value semiconductor partnership for high K excellence

The IP expert ARM, overall-master IBM, fab experts Samsung and GLOBALFOUNDRIES and VLSI software expert Synopsys are in for a high-power technology partnership to make semiconductor chips using high K metal gate process at 32/28nm nodes.

This is a partnership to compete with Intel and as well as Taiwan's semiconductor fab beast TSMC. Intel is quite ahead of these above partners in using high K metal gate process to solve mega problems emerge when the nodes shrink to 32 nm and lower from 45 nm. TSMC and another Taiwanese fab UMC will now increase their effort in implementing high K metal gate technology.

In this so called "IBM fab club", if the each member's strengths leverages to full extent it can make them jump past the competitors in making chips at the nodes below 28nm. At 28nm and below even the small achievement is a big jump.

If we look at the technology excellence of the members of this IBM fab club, they are clearly on the winning streak. ARM; the embedded space processor IP king offers Processor IP cores for toy like gadgets to high performance tablet PCs. Synopsys is offering 10x performance enhanced VLSI EDA tools covering most parts of chip design cycle and also has broad IP offerings.

The remaining three members are fab experts with not much of complimenting expertise. So is there any chance of these businesses getting merged! Quite possible.