Companies to deliver silicon-proven complex IP blocks for advanced interface solutions
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES – 02/05/2013 – At today’s Common Platform Technology Forum, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the world’s first full-service semiconductor foundry, and Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), the innovative technology solutions company, unveiled plans to jointly develop a broad portfolio of complex semiconductor intellectual property (IP) optimized for GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ leading-edge process technology. This collaboration enables seamless integration of Rambus’ enhanced standard interface solutions into the next generation of electronics for faster time-to-market. These silicon-proven IP blocks can address the growing needs in applications ranging from high-performance computing to smart mobile devices.
Rambus will develop a range of high-speed memory and chip-to-chip serial link interfaces optimized for GLOBALFOUNDRIES processes, including the new 14nm-XM technology, which is the industry’s first 14nm offering based on a modular FinFET technology architecture. This partnership builds on past collaboration on several 28nm test chips that demonstrate the capabilities of Rambus’ interfaces for both mobile and server-based applications.
“Our new foundry model of Collaborative Device Manufacturing (CDM) relies on early collaboration across the semiconductor ecosystem in order to deliver innovative solutions at the leading edge,” said Mike Noonen, executive vice president of marketing and sales at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “This extension of our partnership with Rambus will give customers a faster path to take advantage of Rambus’ advanced interface solutions on our new 14nm-XM technology, opening up new avenues for chip designers to innovate on our process technology.”
“As the industry continues its relentless drive to more advanced technologies, deep partnerships are required to deliver the innovative solutions necessary to bring invention to market,” said Kevin Donnelly, senior vice president and general manager of the Memory and Interfaces Division at Rambus. “By engaging early with GLOBALFOUNDRIES on their advanced 14nm process, we can combine our high speed, mixed signal design expertise with FinFET technology, enabling a broad portfolio of silicon-proven complex IP blocks in advance of customer needs.”
GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 14nm-XM offering is based on a modular technology architecture that uses a 14nm FinFET device combined with elements of GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 20nm-LPM process, which is well on its way to production. Technology development is already underway, with test silicon running through GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Fab 8 in Saratoga County, N.Y. The XM stands for “eXtreme Mobility,” and it is the industry’s leading non-planar architecture that is truly optimized for mobile system-on-chip (SoC) designs, providing a whole product solution from the transistor all the way up to the system level. The technology is expected to deliver a 40-60% improvement in battery life when compared to today’s two-dimensional planar transistors at the 20nm node.
About Rambus
Rambus is the innovative technology solutions company that brings invention to market. Unleashing the intellectual power of our world-class engineers and scientists in a collaborative and synergistic way, Rambus invents, licenses and develops solutions that challenge and enable our customers to create the future. While best known for creating unsurpassed semiconductor memory architectures, Rambus is also developing world-changing products and services in security, advanced LED lighting and displays, and immersive mobile media. Additional information can be found at www.rambus.com.
About GLOBALFOUNDRIES
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the world’s first full-service semiconductor foundry with a truly global footprint. Launched in March 2009, the company has quickly achieved scale as the second largest foundry in the world, providing a unique combination of advanced technology and manufacturing to more than 160 customers. With operations in Singapore, Germany and the United States, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the only foundry that offers the flexibility and security of manufacturing centers spanning three continents. The company’s three 300mm fabs and five 200mm fabs provide the full range of process technologies from mainstream to the leading edge. This global manufacturing footprint is supported by major facilities for research, development and design enablement located near hubs of semiconductor activity in the United States, Europe and Asia. GLOBALFOUNDRIES is owned by the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC). For more information, visit http://www.globalfoundries.com.
