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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (6673)	8/7/2003 1:45:42 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

Chipmakers sharpen 65-nanometer focus By Reuters August 7, 2003, 6:58 AM PT Chartered Semiconductor, IBM and Infineon Technologies said Wednesday that they had agreed to a joint deal to advance development of the next frontier of computer-chip manufacturing technology. Chartered and IBM, two of the world's four biggest contract makers of custom computer chips, together with Infineon, a major maker of memory chips, said in a joint statement that they were working to speed development of 65-nanometer chips. One hundred nanometers is roughly 1/1000th the width of a human hair. The push to build computer chips at increasingly tiny geometries drives down the cost while multiplying the performance and complexity of semiconductor devices. The venture could enable chips to be built with circuit wires that are just 65 nanometers apart. The tiniest chips now being commercially built are 90 nanometers in width. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal seeks to assure that the three companies will be among the handful of major semiconductor companies worldwide with assured access to the most advanced semiconductor chips. The multibillion-dollar investments required to build new plants and the increasing complexity and risk of failure in producing molecular-scale circuits has collapsed the number of companies competing to build the most advanced semiconductors to under a dozen players worldwide, from scores previously. Hundreds of electronics companies now forgo building their own plants and rely instead on manufacturing specialists. These include IBM and Chartered who compete with market leaders Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Micro Electronics, also of Taiwan. Building on strengths Both IBM and Chartered plan to have the jointly developed 65-nanometer process installed in their most-advanced fabrication plans. In turn, the two plan to manufacture 65-nanometer products for Infineon, the companies said. The partners said the multiyear venture would build on each company's strengths. These include Infineon's low-power silicon expertise and IBM's leading process technology. Chartered has been working to develop a common foundry process technology that scales from 90 nanometers through next-generation 65-nanometer technology and provides a path to the next step down in scale to 45-nanometer manufacturing. The work will be conducted in IBM's newly opened East Fishkill, N.Y., development laboratory. IBM and Chartered production are among the first to be built on 65-nanometer circuits developed and produced in the new facility, called the Advanced Semiconductor Technology Center, or ASTC 300, which began operations last month. Nearly 200 engineers from the three companies will work together to define manufacturing process tools for next-generation semiconductors. Chartered of Singapore, IBM of Armonk, N.Y., and Infineon of Munich, Germany, said they plan to jointly develop a common advanced foundry process running at 65 nanometers, as well as variant processes tuned for high-powered computers and wireless or mobile devices. The companies are also exploring extending the project to 45-nanometer-scale circuits, they said.