That's about twice the cost of developing 130-nm technology at TSMC, and about a third higher than that of 90-nm, Chang estimated.

This year, TSMC will spend about US$400 million on process development, with most of that going to development of the 65-nm node. Earlier this year, the company made its first 65-nm SRAM test module and announced plans to make the first low-power devices at that process node by late 2005. A high speed version of the process is scheduled to come in the first half of 2006, followed by a general purpose process later that year.

TSMC has already been doing 65-nm development for at least a year. In total, Chang said it will take TSMC at least two years of fundamental R&D development. Throw in cell libraries, various third-party IP licensing deals and the usual ramp-up hiccups, and Chang said he believes "it's not too inaccurate to say that it's approaching $1 billion."

Chang made the comments in the context of trying to stress the need for collaborative partnerships among manufacturers and designers as development risks increase in the semiconductor industry. He lamented the burgeoning costs for the industry, especially on the chip design side, where he noted that more and more companies are undergoing a form of corporate stress fatigue brought on by nanometer design economics.

"When a medium-sized company or a small-sized company spends tens of millions of dollars to develop a product and it doesn't sell well, then the company's very survival will be in question," he said.

By: DocMemory
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