Will the Apple A9 Fall Flat?

Will the Apple A9 Fall Flat?
by Robert Maire on 01-23-2015 at 12:00 pm

Several months ago we had suggested that we were concerned that Apple’s A9 processor would wind up being 20nm planar (maybe 14nm planar) rather than the expected 14nm FinFET. As we are now under 9 months from a likely launch time for Apple’s next gen IPhone the timing for getting a 14nm FinFET processor on board the phoneRead More


Global Foundries and IBM, More Details

Global Foundries and IBM, More Details
by Paul McLellan on 11-21-2014 at 7:00 am

Now that the dust has started to settle on the GlobalFoundries acquisition of IBM’s semiconductor business it is possible to look into another level of detail about what GlobalFoundries will be acquiring in the way of technology and IP. Of course, the deal hasn’t formally closed yet so this won’t all happen … Read More


GlobalFoundries and Samsung at ARM

GlobalFoundries and Samsung at ARM
by Paul McLellan on 10-03-2014 at 3:01 pm

It was back in April that GlobalFoundries and Samsung announced that GF would license Samsung’s 14nm process to run in their Fab8 in upstate New York. Since then there has not really been any news and of course those of us that follow the foundry industry wondered to what extent there was real substance to the agreement or if … Read More


Who Will Lead at 10nm?

Who Will Lead at 10nm?
by Scotten Jones on 09-29-2014 at 4:00 pm

There has been a lot of discussion on SemiWiki lately around 14nm FinFET technology and who really leads and by how much. I thought it would be interesting to review some process metrics for previous technology generation and then make some forecasts around 10nm.

The focus of this article will be Intel, TSMC and Global Foundries/Samsung… Read More


SEMulator3D: GlobalFoundries Process Variation Reduction

SEMulator3D: GlobalFoundries Process Variation Reduction
by Paul McLellan on 08-19-2014 at 7:01 am

At SEMICON last month, Rohit Pal of GlobalFoundries gave a presentation on their methodology for reducing process variation. It was titled Cpk Based Variation Reduction: 14nm FinFET Technology.

Capability indices such as Cpk is a commonly used technique to assess the variation maturity of a technology. It looks at a given parameter’s… Read More


GlobalFoundries: Upcoming Events

GlobalFoundries: Upcoming Events
by Paul McLellan on 07-11-2014 at 9:01 am

GlobalFoundries is running a series of technical seminars in the US and Europe, following on from the successful versions run last month in Shanghai and Hsinchu. Among the topics that will be discussed are Foundry 2.0 and Collaborative Device Manufacturing for both Leading Edge and Mainstream technologies. The European events… Read More


GlobalFoundries Goes to Semicon West

GlobalFoundries Goes to Semicon West
by Paul McLellan on 07-04-2014 at 8:38 pm

Next week it is Semicon West, the big equipment vendor tradeshow. I love to go since EDA and semiconductor and all the stuff we are interested in here at Semiwiki are driven by equipment capabilities, especially lithography. The highest viewed blogs I write tend to be ones on technologies that are just a bit out beyond the stuff people… Read More


GlobalFoundries Gets a New Manager in NY

GlobalFoundries Gets a New Manager in NY
by Paul McLellan on 05-24-2014 at 6:01 pm

GlobalFoundries is on the move. Of course the biggest announcement recently was the licensing of Samsung’s process to run in fab 8 in Malta, New York. This means that fab 8 will be a viable alternative, a true second source for Samsung production and one that doesn’t compete with its customers as Samsung does in many … Read More


GlobalFoundries Gets a 14nm Process

GlobalFoundries Gets a 14nm Process
by Paul McLellan on 04-21-2014 at 10:00 am

I went to a briefing last Tuesday where Samsung and GlobalFoundries announced that they have the same process at 14nm. Dan already wrote about itso it is old news in one sense. But I really think people underestimate its importance. In essence, reading between the lines, Samsung is licensing GF their 14nm process. This is driven … Read More


Who Wants to Live in Malta?

Who Wants to Live in Malta?
by Paul McLellan on 04-08-2014 at 11:49 am

Who wants to live in Malta? A beautiful island in the eastern Mediterranean with wonderful food…wait, that’s the wrong Malta. I’m talking about the one in upstate New York where GlobalFoundries have their big fab 8 and also their technology development center (also known as fab 8.1).

So why would you want to … Read More