EAST FISHKILL, N.Y. -- IBM Corp.'s Microelectronics Division here today jumped in the 90-nm (0.09-micron) technology race, announcing an advanced process that will enable the development of ASICs and other chips with up to 72 million "wireable" gates.

Geared for IBM's ASIC, silicon foundry, or standard IC customers, the company's new Cu-08 process is a 90-nm offering equipped with copper interconnects, low-k dielectrics, embedded memory, voltage reduction techniques, and silicon-in-insulator (SOI) wafers.

IBM will ramp up the Cu-08 process in its new, 300-mm fab in East Fishkill. A design kit, which allows customers to develop 90-nm ASICs and related chips, will be available in the third quarter of this year. One of the first customers for IBM's technology is Cisco Systems Inc., according to the company.

The Cu-08 process is said to boost chip performance by up to 20%, but drive power consumption down by as much as 40%. It will also enable advanced ASICs and system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs, said Tom Reeves, vice president of ASICs at IBM Microelectronics.

"IBM is well in the lead in 90-nm technology," Reeves declared. "The proof will be in the pudding in the next 12 months," he told SBN.

The IBM executive was making references to its chip rivals, which also claim to be the leaders in the 90-nm process technology race. Recently, for example, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) announced its 90-nm process, which will move into "risk production" in the third quarter of this year.

One of IBM's ASIC rivals, LSI Logic Corp., plans to leverage TSMC's 90-nm process for its own ASIC lines. Fujitsu, NEC, and other ASIC suppliers have also separately announced their respective 90-nm processes.

Last week, Taiwanese foundry provider United Microelectronics Corp. rolled out its 90-nm process. And not to be outdone, Intel, Motorola, and Texas Instruments have announced 90-nm processes as well.

IBM is also expected to become a major factor in the 90-nm game, especially in the ASIC and foundry segments, said James Hines, who tracks the foundry market for Dataquest Inc. of San Jose. "IBM has great technology," Hines said.

But the 90-nm technology market is still in its infancy, especially in ASICs, according to Reeves. "Even 130-nm (0.13-micron) market is still in the early stages," he said, noting the company is seeing 90-nm design actively at the "high-end of the market."

IBM's Cu-08 process support up to eight layers of copper wiring, separated by an advanced low-k, dielectric insulation material. IBM is using a spin-on resin material, dubbed SiLK, which is developed by Dow Chemical Co. of Midland, Mich.

The process also includes the company's so-called "voltage islands" technology, which can boost performance and reduce power consumption by allowing designers to alter the voltages within the chip to meet the needs of individual circuits.

It also consists of multiple library options of circuit designs, including an embedded DRAM memory capability. In addition, IBM provides more than 300 building blocks or "cores" in the process, including PowerPC processors, SRAMs, bus interfaces, and local- and wide-area network support.

The process will ramp up in IBM's new 300-mm fab. In the fab, the company is initially ramping up its 130-nm process. Once it gets that technology up and running, IBM will ramp up the 90-nm technology "exclusively" in this fab, according to Reeves.