Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sun Microsystems Inc. has chosen TSMC to make its multi-core processors at 45nm and finer geometries. The decision marks a small shot in the arm for TSMC, and the start for Sun of what could become a partnership to sell its Sparc architecture in the merchant market.
Sun has been looking for a foundry since Texas Instruments, Sun's long-time fab partner, announced it would collaborate with others on its process development at the 45nm node and beyond. Sun's choice of TSMC is not surprising, given the foundry was one of TI's picks for a process technology partner as well.
The server maker currently sells 65nm Niagara CPUs and has announced a 65nm design for Rock, its next-generation high-end CPU. Sun has not yet announced any plans for 45nm processors, however it has several on the drawing board, said Fadi Azhari, director of marketing for Sparc technology at Sun.
"We have had engineering teams working for months now on 45nm designs and we will have multiple 45nm products," Azhari said.
The deal does not include any other system-level ASICs Sun may design for its servers and other products. However, with Ethernet controllers and security accelerators embedded in Sun's latest microprocessors, the company is making a declining number of systems ASICs.
By: DocMemory
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