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Chipmakers to coordinate on 45-nanometer process

Japan's Toshiba and three other chipmakers said on Tuesday they have agreed to standardize technology to make advanced chips with a circuitry width of 45-nanometers or finer. The three other companies are Fujitsu, NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology, a joint venture between Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric. The companies are looking to possible mutual use and consolidation of their plants in the future. Bring on 45nm and the power savings that come with the smaller die sizes!

Finer circuitry decreases the size of a chip and enables data to be processed faster. It also cuts production costs per chip. But costs for development and production equipment have increased as technology moves to ever-more intricate circuitry, making it difficult for chipmakers to shoulder the burden alone. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Most of the world's advanced semiconductor factories currently make chips with a circuitry width of 90 nanometers.

CNET News

Posted by | Tue, Jun 13, 2006 - 06:44 AM