Toshiba Corp. and NEC Electronics Corp. said they would jointly develop 32-nanometer chips.

Chip makers are racing to move to tinier circuit sizes to cut production cost per chip function and enable powerful electronics that run for hours without killing the battery. But the shift also forces changes in fundamental materials and processes and exposes chip makers to huge initial costs.

Under the terms of the partnership, the companies have agreed to collaborate on the development of system LSI process technology for the 32-nm node. Additionally, Toshiba and NEC Electronics continue ''to discuss joint manufacturing,'' and expect to reach a decision concerning this in 2008, according to the companies.

The companies did not elaborate on the details. Toshiba and NEC Electronics have been working together on 45-nm process technology development since 2006 at Toshiba's Advanced Microelectronics Center in Yokohama.

The companies will now develop 32-nm processes at the site, with the aim of accelerating development and sharing development costs. The development of derivative and differentiated process technologies will be discussed separately by the two companies.

By: DocMemory
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