Dedicated chip foundry Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing said it has achieved functional 0.13-micron 300mm wafers from its Fab 7 within five months of the first equipment installation, the Singapore foundry said today.

The initial silicon results at the new fab exceeded internal targets, Chartered said.

Engineering also began for 300mm wafers at Chartered¡¯s Fab 7 for a 0.11-micron process, as well for the 90nm platform it is jointly developing with IBM. On the 200mm and 300mm front, Chartered said it is already engaging with customers on its 0.13- and 0.11-micron processes. It's 90nm cross-foundry platform will be available at both Chartered¡¯s  Fab 7 and IBM¡¯s East Fishkill, New York fab.

Further, the company said it is offering its 0.13-micron process as an intermediate step to 0.13-micron from its Fabs 6 and 7, achieved with a 10 percent shrink of Chartered¡¯s 0.13-micron design rule, meant to reduce implementation risks while lowering the cost per die, according to the foundry. Chartered¡¯s 0.11-micron process supports faster speeds and enhanced performance, and are designed for graphic chips, optical drives and high-speed SRAMs, the foundry says.

As part of the joint development and reciprocal manufacturing agreement between Chartered and IBM, IBM technical experts are in Singapore to transfer the jointly developed 90nm technology from IBM¡¯s 300mm facility in New York. The companies are also working together to qualify the equipment set at Fab 7 and the fab¡¯s equipment configuration and process flow with those at IBM¡¯s facility to enable a dual-source 90nm platform, the companies say.

Following the launch of 90nm engineering wafers, Fab 7 remains on schedule to manufacture silicon-on-insulator (SOI) products for IBM in the middle of next year.

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved