IBM, NEC team up on 32nm chip tech

NEC has enrolled in the joint-development alliance set up by IBM to work on next-generation 32nm (nanometre) technology.

The two companies have signed a multi-year agreement, IBM said in a statement. As well as work on 32nm technology, the agreement will cover core research, the statement said.

The most advanced, general-purpose CPUs today are built with 45nm circuits. By making the components smaller, chip manufacturers can get more transistors on a single core and fit more cores into a single die, improving performance and power consumption.

The downside is that the increased complexity of the new processors can increase the cost of basic research and development, according to Gary Patton, vice president at the IBM Semiconductor Research and Development Center.

"Our unique, collaborative model for semiconductor research and development helps to mitigate individual investment, while allowing for increased design complexity, shortened time to market, and quicker integration of next-generation process materials and technology nodes," Patton said in a statement on Wednesday.

So far, IBM has signed agreements with Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Freescale, Infineon Technologies, STMicroelectronics, Samsung and Toshiba.

Intel is halfway through its two-year 45nm rollout, while AMD expects to release 45nm products this year, although no firm date has been given. Intel is expected to deliver its first 32nm products next year and the IBM alliance has said it believes it will launch such products then as well.