GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced a strategic customer relationship with STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM). One of the world's leading suppliers of semiconductor solutions, ST will partner with GLOBALFOUNDRIES to produce products based on 40nm Low Power (LP) bulk silicon technology. The 40nm LP process is ideal for the next generation of wireless applications, handheld devices, and consumer electronics, which require excellent performance and long battery life. First tape out and production of ST products by GLOBALFOUNDRIES is planned to start in 2010.
“When we launched GLOBALFOUNDRIES, our long-term vision was to bring a new business model to the foundry market and to become the partner of choice for the largest and most innovative semiconductor design and manufacturing companies,” said Doug Grose, Chief Executive Officer, GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “With the addition of an industry-leader in low-power technology like STMicroelectronics we now begin to deliver on this vision. We look forward to harnessing our full capabilities for ST to provide best-in-class service in bringing their 40nm design innovation to life in high volumes and at mature yields.”
“To ensure ample capacity for our customer/partners at the leading-edge of low-power design, ST needs an agile and high-performance manufacturing partner that can adapt to our changing needs,” said Jean-Marc Chery, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, STMicroelectronics. “With a strong commitment to manufacturing and technology excellence at the leading-edge, we believe GLOBALFOUNDRIES is an excellent partner to collaborate on low-power design innovation in 2010 and beyond.”
GLOBALFOUNDRIES production is currently centered at a state-of-the-art 300mm manufacturing campus in Dresden, Germany – otherwise known as Fab 1. Consistently ranked as one of the top fabs in the industry, Fab 1 has a proven track record of ramping leading-edge technologies at high-volume and mature yields, most recently evidenced on a seamless ramp of 45nm process technology. In July 2009, GLOBALFOUNDRIES also broke ground on Fab 2, a $4.2B wafer manufacturing facility in Malta, N.Y. Once complete, Fab 2 is expected to be the most advanced semiconductor foundry in the world.