Glofo - the little foundry that thought it could - was firing shots over the broadside not just of rival TSMC this week at MWC, but also big chipper Intel.
While waxing lyrical over the merits of its increasingly lusty affair with ARM, the fab folks at Glofo were also claiming they would deliver 28nm technology in 2H 2010 - faster than TSMC, and even temporarily leapfrogging the mighty Intel in the arms race for process technology supremacy.
This may or may not be accurate, and the boasts should probably be taken with a grain of salt, as Intel has already shipped 32nm parts in volume - even though sources tell us the initial ramp has been a little slower than expected adding to speculation around slow yield ramps.
Also, it's important to note that Intel has never embraced half node technology, instead opting for full node transitions which somewhat muddies any comparison with Glofo.
But while Intel continues to set the standard, with Glofo hot on its heels, all eyes will turn to TSMC to see if the chambers finally match up this time around, especially given all the new ingredients in the pantry for 28nm.
The Taiwanese semi will introduce both immersion and HKMG at 28nm, adding two new mission-critical elements to its recipe for wafer baking.
With the bad taste of sour silicon still in its mouth on 40nm, one has to wonder what the future holds for the battleground of foundry technology supremacy in 2010.
It's certainly shaping up to be an interesting race and a fab year.
David (think Goliath) + Disaster = Dead On Arrival
However, Whats NEXT. Easy to Answer. 10 Gb/s LAN Ports. next meaning next Gen. Why?
Graphene Finally Broke Bank. ibm with Georgia Tach announced late yesterday & Going to FAB Production as CMOS Starter with Graphene.
Carbon is Hot&Cool, Fast & Stable, By Doping P+ with Radiative secret Crystal describe as Glass, yet also classified as TOP secret & p- WITH HOLES. EACH HOLE CAREFULLY MINED FROM ALBERT Hall in Kensington, Grphene Problem was finally solved in Oldies Lifetime, Publicly. Now to use that 100 Ghz/s Speed is Question.
Shurely TECOS' Will Find DUMP Market for mere Gb/s Service. When 10 Gigs Become Port. 10,20,50 Mb/s, How Goshe'.
Chartered Nation about to Recieve Favour from owil of Mid East & To Should Form Very Stable Union. ONE Company, Under Flame of Olympic torch of TELCO, Uniting world, for ALL To See.
Signed:THOMAS STEWART
Just Out bit ago today:
FCC Wants High-Speed Internet for the Masses
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, said in a speech that the National Broadband Plan will aim to bring 100 megabits per second Internet connections to 100 million homes across the United States.
Hows that for FAST Track.
STeWie.