GLOBAL FOUNDRIES has been way ahead of the curve with process tech when compared to any other foundry on the market. Today, it somewhat accidentally cemented that lead by publicly displaying an unlabeled 28nm wafer.
28nm wafers that are not test structures
Global Foundries representatives would not talk about what chips were on that wafer, but they were definitely not the test SRAM structures that we saw in June. The new wafers were quite irregular in appearance, so they could be CPU or GPU chips, or they could be some very advanced test structures. Given the size ballparks at over 300mm^2, they are unlikely to be ARM cores, but they could be advanced SOCs based on ARM designs.
In any case, Global Foundries 28nm process is looking good. Officially, it is still on track for the second half of 2010, but given this showing, that may be an overly cautious timetable. Progress like this tends to lead to a slew of new products, so bring on the new toys.S|A
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Charlie Demerjian is the founder of Stone Arch Networking Services and SemiAccurate.com. SemiAccurate.com is a technology news site; addressing hardware design, software selection, customization, securing and maintenance, with over one million views per month. He is a technologist and analyst specializing in semiconductors, system and network architecture. As head writer of SemiAccurate.com, he regularly advises writers, analysts, and industry executives on technical matters and long lead industry trends. Charlie is also available through
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GLOBAL FOUNDRIES WAS showing off the goodies today, with three wafers of unreleased parts. Not only did they have the tried and true 45nm SOI process, but 32nm SOI and the long awaited 28nm bulk as well.
GlobalFoundries in Dresden has already started the first production of 300mm test wafers with 28nm process technology.
THE ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT back in June seems to have been generally missed, possibly because most of us aren't familiar with the Common Platform Alliance, an organization striving for a common, open design ecosystem and fab synchronization, amongst other things. Global Foundries, IBM, and Samsung are the key foundries that make…
