GlobalFoundries will open a new factory in Chengdu, China, to make inexpensive chips for wireless devices.
GlobalFoundries will open a new factory in Chengdu, China, to make inexpensive chips for wireless devices.
The chipmaker, once part of microprocessor designer AMD , also plans to expand production at existing fabrication plants in the U. S., Germany, and Singapore, it said Friday. It makes chips for AMD, IBM, Qualcomm, and Mediatek, among others.
Beginning next year, the new fab in China — a joint venture with the municipality of Chengdu — will produce chips on 300-millimeter wafers using standard manufacturing techniques, the company said.
Sometime in 2019, it will switch to a different manufacturing process, FD-SOI (fully depleted silicon on insulator), which GlobalFoundries calls 22FDX. That process is particularly suitable for the low-cost manufacture of the radio-frequency chips used in smartphones, cars, and the internet of things, the company said.
GlobalFoundries already uses 22FDX at its Fab 1 plant in Dresden, Germany, where it plans to increase capacity by 40 percent over the next three years.
Engineers in Dresden are already working on 12FDX, the successor to 22FDX, so-called because it will produce chips with a 12-nanometer feature size rather than the 22nm of the existing process. Smaller features typically result in smaller chips with lower power consumption, or higher performance for the same consumption, although the use of more advanced production technologies can increase costs.
GlobalFoundries wants to use 12FDX to manufacture chips for 5G, the next generation of mobile phone networks.
In Singapore, the company will speed up lines using older chip technologies, upping production of 40nm chips by 35 percent. It will also boost output of 180nm chips on the older 200mm wafers that were common before 300mm became the norm.
GlobalFoundries was keen to emphasize that is investing in the U. S., too. It has plowed $13 billion into its business there over the last eight years, creating 9,000 jobs at four locations around the country, it said Monday.
Since the election of U. S. President Donald Trump last November, U. S. businesses have found it expedient to promote their investment in U. S. jobs.
Just this week, following a meeting between Trump and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Intel dusted off a six-year-old pledge to build a new factory in Arizona.
GlobalFoundries is not done investing in the U. S. yet. Early next year, it will increase production of 14nm FinFET chips by 20 percent at its Fab 8 plant in New York, it said. FinFET (fin field-effect transistor) chips have a three-dimensional structure particularly suited to microprocessors. The company is also developing more advanced manufacturing techniques in New York and expects to begin making chips using a 7nm process there by the middle of next year.

© Source: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3168706/computer-processors/us-chipmaker-plans-new-factory-in-china.html
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Product designers regularly come up against a variety of design issues, such as being forced to trade-off a non-volatile memory requirement over another, which is usually a choice between a serial EEPROM and parallel solutions. Each option is very different from the other, and…
Product designers regularly come up against a variety of design issues, such as being forced to trade-off a non-volatile memory requirement over another, which is usually a choice between a serial EEPROM and parallel solutions.
Each option is very different from the other, and the choice will often determine a device’s performance, design, programmability, density, power consumption and physical size. It is therefore essential to choose wisely. For this reason, we are offering informative information on both memory options and how they compare to one another, which could help you make an informed decision.
Serial EEPROM
Unlike a parallel solution, serial EEPROMs enable the communication via a serial interface, which can be achieved with a minimum number of I/Os. Depending on the software and hardware protocol, a serial EEPROM will require between two to four lines for data input and output, communication, device control and memory addressing, which will minimise a device’s hardware interface requirements.
One of the biggest benefits of a serial EEPROM is its space-saving package size, which varies between 256 to 16k bits. It is therefore a superb option for applications that have a key focus on product weight and size. Low current consumption is also another advantage due to the limited I/O ports available, because serial EEPROMs most often have an operating current that is approximately 3 milliamperes.
What’s more, a serial EEPROM’s byte programmability allows you to delete a program by the byte, which will not impact the content located within a memory location. Serial EEPROM also has a low voltage operation, with the company Microchip offering a family of devices that operate down to 1.8V, in addition to providing 2V and 2.5V options.
Parallel Solutions
Parallel solutions include everything from flash memory products, EPROMs, Parallel EEPROMS and SRAMs that feature a battery back-up. Each device operates by communicating with another device via a parallel interface, which will each provide a different address, data and control lines, with a pin count somewhere between 24 to 40. Parallel solutions can therefore be costly, because they have large footprints.
Also, you will require a DIP package heights for SRAMs with on-board battery, which can be larger in comparison to standard DIP packages, which will only add to the size of the overall package and the price. It is also important to note that SRAMS with batteries and Parallel EEPROMs are the only two solutions of out of the four non-volatile memory types that allow you delete and add content one byte at a time.
The Winner: Serial EEPROM
While parallel solutions offer many advantages, they fail to compare to Serial EEPROMs. For example, a serial EEPROM device has a maximum operating current of 16k, which has an order of magnitude less than a parallel EEPROM that offers an equivalent mass. It is important to remember that power consumption is equal to current consumption, which means the lower the current then the lower the power consumption will be.
The 16K Serial EEPROM also has an advantage to a 16k parallel solution. A 150mil 8 pin SOIC footprint is less than 50K square mils, which is comparable to the area of 250K mils for a 24 pin SOIC with a significant 800k square mils.
Also, as mentioned earlier, serial EEPROMs only need between two to four input or output lines for a complete communication service, whilst parallel solutions may require a minimum of 22 lines, which will amplify the microcontroller overheads and additional space required to feature the many hardware lines.
Unlike serial EEPROMS, flash devices or EPROMs are unable to program one byte at time, so the entire content must be reprogrammed whenever one byte needs to be erased or reprogrammed. This can be particularly time consuming, which can slow down productivity. Not only that, but the process will also require additional software to manage the reprogramming operation.
Serial EEPROMs also have a low voltage operation that parallel EEPROMs cannot compete with, especially in comparison to Microchips 1.8V. The low voltage operation reduces power consumption by almost 90%. Serial EEPROMs can therefore be a cost-effective option when seeking a non-volatile memory, with parallel solutions often failing to rival its cost, programmability and low power consumption.
Serial EEPROMs can therefore perform in various computer, telecommunication, automotive industrial and consumer applications, such as memory storage of channel selectors and analog controls, configuration storage, power down storage, last number redial and speed dial storage, plus so much more.
Before you make a decision, weigh up the pros and cons of each non-volatile memory solution so you select the right option for your requirements.

© Source: http://pctechmag.com/2017/02/serial-eeprom-versus-parallel-solutions/
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