HSINCHU, Taiwan -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. here today announced delivery of processed wafers with functioning 0.13-micron microprocessors to foundry customer Via Technologies Inc. According to TSMC, these microprocessor wafers are the foundry industry's first 0.13-micron products to be shipped to a customer.
The announcement comes nearly two months after TSMC announced it had begun processing customer IC designs with a new 0.13-micron process technology (see Sept. 15 story). TSMC and foundry rival United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) are racing each other to take an early lead in 0.13-micron chip-processing services.
The first 0.13-micron wafers from TSMC contain Via's next-generation x86 processor.
"Through our close partnership with TSMC, Via will be the first company in the world to launch a CPU using an advanced 0.13 micron process onto the market," declared Wenchi Chen, president and chief executive officer of the Taiwan chip supplier. Via is preparing to challenge Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) with its new Cyrix processor.
The Cyrix chips have been fabricated with TSMC's CL013LV process, which is the foundry supplier's high-performance, low-voltage version of its 0.13-micron technology. TSMC is also offering 0.13-micron processes for low power (CL013LP) and a core technology for standard chip designs (CL013G).
Taiwan's Via said it is aiming the new Cyrix processor at "value" PCs, notebook computers, and information appliances. The company said it has received the 0.13-micron processed, 200-mm wafers from TSMC and has verified complete functionality.
RSS
Digital
HDD roadmap:
The hard disk drive (HDD) industry finds its lifeblood in a technology roadmap. The areal density roadmap describes the number of magnetic bits per unit area on the disk platter--thereby defining the storage capacity.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Top 10 IC vendors with cash:
The world's biggest IC companies by revenue rank not only among the best in their respective industry segments but are also more likely to have huge piles of cash that can be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development
10 companies in trouble (revisited):
What follows is an updated version of 10 companies in trouble. Some companies have been removed since the last version, others remain. Still others have been added to the mix.
MIPS to go after the cellphone?:
ARM dominates the global cell phone market, and many industry observers scoff at MIPS as a viable player in mobile phone designs. But MIPS disclosed that over the next one or two years' time, there will be MIPS-based handsets shipped.
Hot technologies to watch for in 2009:
Every technologist, marketer, industry analyst and reporter on a hunt for the next big thing is bracing for the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show scheduled less than a month away.
Notable women in microelectronics
EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in microelectronics.
EE Times updates Silicon 60
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
