GlobalFoundries shows off new wafers

Computex 2009: Mine's smaller than yours, says the AMD spin off.

Global Foundries was showing off some shiny new 32nm and 28nm wafers recently in Taipei, pre Computex, having apparently having to secretly smuggle them into the country in a plastic bag.

Jon Carvill, head of communications at GloFo also showed the INQ a 45nm six-core Istanbul wafer which he claimed was the company's "smoothest ramp and conversion yet," boasting a holy grail of high performance and low leakage thanks to technology like immersion lithography and APM (automated precision management).

The 45nm Istanbul wafers are already being churned out by GloFo, which is claiming the offering to be "AMD's most complex and largest microprocessor to date."

The backslapping doesn't stop there either, with the AMD spin-off saying it has delivered a full quarter ahead of schedule and that no other foundry in the world is making processors this complex today, in high volume, something TSMC and UMC would vehemently contest, but seeing is believing.

Carvill told us that the 45nm process was already pumping out "processors in volume production at mature yields in record time." he added, "We look to build on this with 32nm and 28nm to the benefit of AMD and prospective third party customers."

As for 32nm, the firm reckons development is still on track and that 32nm pilot lines are already running in Dresden with test chips. "We'll be able to accept bulk designs in 2H09 with the ability to ramp production in 1H10," Carvill told us.

As we oohed and ahhed, Carvill procured a shiny 28nm wafer deftly from behind his ear, possibly Glofo's most strategically important node to date.

The main benefits of 28nm will purportedly be felt in the area of power efficiency and will be particularly valuable in terms of the graphics and wireless markets.

Carvill was confident the 32nm "experience" would "ensure a very smooth transition to 28nm with minimal risk for our customers," adding "We're already running development SRAM chips already in Upstate, NY with IBM and plan to accept customer designs and begin ramping production in 2010"
"With 28nm, we'll be on second generation high-k and third generation immersion, which we believe will provide an optimal balance of performance and power efficiency for our customers," he concluded.