IBM Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Wednesday announced they have entered into an agreement to jointly develop chip-making technologies for future products.
The processors developed by IBM and AMD will be aimed at improving microprocessor performance and reducing power consumption, the companies said. The technologies will be based on materials such as high-speed silicon-on-insulator transistors, copper interconnections and low-k dielectric insulation.
The agreement includes collaboration on 65 and 45 nanometre (na) technologies to be implemented on 300 millimetre silicon wafers.
The two organizations will be able to use the jointly developed technologies to manufacture products in their own chip fabrication facilities and in conjunction with select manufacturing partners. The companies expect first products based on the new 65nm technologies to appear sometime in 2005.
The development will be supported by engineers at both companies working in IBM’s semiconductor research and development centre, where work is expected to begin by the end of this month.
The companies are online at www.ibm.com and www.amd.com.