IBM, Chartered, Samsung and ARM will develop a comprehensive 32 nanometer (nm) and 28nm Systems-on-a-Chip (SoCs) design platform based on high-k metal-gate (HKMG) technology from the IBM-led joint-development alliance.

Under this multi-year collaboration, ARM will develop and license a design platform of physical intellectual property (IP) including logic, memory and interface products for the Common Platform technology alliance of IBM, Chartered and Samsung for distribution to their customers.

ARM also announced its intent to develop customized physical IP targeted at achieving optimal power, performance, and area for their current and future Cortex processor family leveraging the unique attributes of the Common Platform HKMG 32nm/28nm technology. The HKMG technology breaks down the historical barrier of scaling, allowing significant power and performance advantage by utilizing new material science innovations. This technology targets a broad range of embedded segments, including mobile, portable and consumer electronics.

The early parallel development work between ARM and the Common Platform alliance leverages their respective industry-leading expertise in processor IP, physical IP and technology development. This combination will facilitate design scaling and accelerate the market availability of next generation mobile devices with unmatched performance, outstanding battery life and reduced cost.

The Common Platform partners expect to continue to expand the eco-system in this collaborative initiative to include more members in the near future. These additional partners will expand the offering of EDA support, services and IP offerings to enable customers to accelerate their time to market on these advanced technologies.

“IBM remains convinced collaborative innovation in an open ecosystem of partners is the key to technology leadership, both now and in the years to come,” said Mike Cadigan, general manager, Semiconductor Solutions, IBM. “Today’s announcement with ARM extends that strategy to the next level, from IBM research through Common Platform manufacturing to the leading consumer application architecture. With the extensions of our agreements to the 32nm generation, IBM is working together with its alliance partners to deliver leading-edge technology that promises to dramatically change the way we live, work and play.”

[1] IBM, Chartered and Samsung have forged a manufacturing collaboration featuring bulk CMOS 32nm, 45nm, 65nm and 90nm process technologies. By combining the expertise and research resources of all three companies and leveraging advances such as high-k metal gate technology, 193nm immersion lithography and ultralow-k dielectrics, the Common Platform technology collaboration is able to accelerate the availability of leading-edge technology to foundry customers. The Common Platform model is supported by a comprehensive design-enablement ecosystem, enabling foundry customers to easily source their chip designs to multiple 300-mm foundries with minimal design work and with unprecedented flexibility and choice.