IBM, ARM, Samsung, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Synopsys Announce Delivery of New Chip Platform

ARM, IBM (NYSE:IBM), Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Synopsys, Inc today announced the delivery of the industry's first complete vertically optimized 32/28 nanometer (nm) design platform.

Demonstrating the strength of the collaboration established and announced at DAC a year ago, the companies are collectively providing a technology enablement solution for the design and manufacturing of advanced mobile and embedded devices.

The solution consists of optimized high performance, low-power processor and
physical IP from ARM; tool enablement, connectivity IP and integrated design
flow from Synopsys; and 32/28nm low-power process technology from the Common
Platform alliance of IBM, Samsung and GLOBALFOUNDRIES. The Common Platform
32/28nm process uses an innovative high-k metal gate approach to address the
limitations of polysilicon technology. It leverages the research and
development efforts of the IBM joint technology development alliance to offer
a high-performance, low-power manufacturing platform.
The 32nm technology is scalable to 28nm for area optimization. Customers can
seamlessly transition to 28nm technology without the need for a major redesign
and with lower risk, reduced cost and faster time-to-market.
This complete solution demonstrates the important role industry
collaboration has in addressing the increasing complexity of SoC design as
technology migrates to smaller geometries. The platform leverages:

-- ARM(R) Cortex(TM) high-performance, low-power processor architecture and
optimized suite of physical IP, including standard cells, power
management kit, memory compilers and interface IP, for the 32/28nm HKMG
process. The ARM IP contribution delivers valuable low-power and system
cost benefits. All physical IP are readily accessible on DesignStart -
designstart.arm.com

-- Synopsys Lynx Design System, enabled by the Galaxy(TM) Implementation
Platform with IC Validator In-Design physical verification, and the
Synopsys DesignWare(R) portfolio of interface IP. This RTL-to-GDSII
implementation solution reduces risk and total design costs for
optimized 32/28nm HKMG ARM Cortex processor-based SoC designs.

-- 10 test chips produced through the three-way collaboration in 32 and
28nm HKMG process technology. Producing these chips has helped validate
the design platform, including Common Platform PDKs, ARM Physical IP
and Cortex processors, Synopsys Interface IP, core tool enablement and
design methodology for accelerating first customer silicon success.

-- 32nm low-power HKMG process technology is currently factory-qualified
by Samsung 28nm low-power HKMG process technology to be factory-qualified
at GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Samsung in Q1 2011. The 32/28nm process
technologies, featuring the innovative Gate First approach to HKMG,
offer significant improvements in performance and power consumption
when compared to the 45/40nm technology generations.

-- A standardized platform to manufacture 28nm low-power HKMG
semiconductors for a new generation of mobile devices, providing the
flexibility of multi-sourcing based on the planned synchronization of
fabs by members of the Common Platform alliance.

-- Demonstrations and technical sessions of this comprehensive 32/28nm
enablement platform will be shown at the 2010 DAC in the ARM-Common
Platform-Synopsys booth (#586) "32/28nm Delivered" exhibit. On Tuesday,
June 15, the companies will host an access innovation luncheon - where
executives from the five allied companies will detail the benefits of
32/28nm HKMG and the accessibility of the enablement platform. Online
registration is required at:

www.synopsys.com/Community/Par … form/Pages/DAC10CPlu
ch.aspx
Related announcements and additional details can be found at the following
links:
-- Samsung Electronics Qualifies Foundry Industry's First 32nm Low Power
High-K Metal Gates Logic Process and Design Ecosystem:-

www.samsung.com/us/business/se … View.do?news_id=1162

-- Samsung Electronics Achieves First-Pass 32nm Silicon Success Using
Synopsys Galaxy Implementation Platform:-
synopsys.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=812

-- Synopsys Delivers Optimized Lynx Design System for Common Platform
32/28-nm Technology:-
synopsys.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=816

Provided by IBM