TSMC, ARM Aim 7nm at Data Centers

Cloud computing the next process driver?

By Rick Merritt, EETimes,SAN JOSE, Calif., Mar. 15, 2016 – 

TSMC and ARM announced the next phase of their collaboration on leading-edge semiconductor process technology. Interestingly, they suggest data center and networking chips will be drivers of their work on the 7nm FinFET node.

To date, mobile application processors such as Apple's A series, Qualcomm's Snapdragon and Samsung's Exynos have been among the first SoCs to use new process technologies. Tape outs of mobile chips using 64-bit ARM cores were among the early milestones for 16 and 10nm nodes.

Amid a slowdown in handset growth, the winds appear to be shifting. In a statement released March 15, the two announced "a multi-year agreement to collaborate on a 7nm FinFET process. The new agreement expands the companies' long-standing partnership and advances leading-edge process technologies beyond mobile and into next-generation networks and data centers."

Specifically, ARM said it is preparing a generation of "future ARM technology designed specifically for data centers and network infrastructure and optimized for TSMC 7nm FinFET," according to a quote in the release from Pete Hutton, president of ARM's product group.

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