IBM Chip Technology will Enable Faster Internet

IBM has announced a new chip-making technology that can be used to create advanced semiconductors that can keep pace with the exploding number of internet-connected devices and the tidal wave of data they are generating.

The Cu-32 Custom Logic offering employs unique IBM technology - designed by IBM Research - to dramatically increase the memory capacity and processing speeds of chips used in fiber-optic and wireless networks, and in such gear as routers and switches. The technology can help manufacturers and network operators handle the data deluge driven by consumers' appetites for smart phones and other Web-connected devices.

IBM's Cu-32 technology could enable cellular infrastructures that can move one year's worth of text messages (six trillion, worldwide in 2010) in less than ten seconds; a consumer downloading a feature-length film on a smart phone in less than ten seconds, or an HD version in under a minute; or routers that can stream every motion picture ever produced in less than one minute.

IBM's embedded DRAM technology provides the most dense on-chip dynamic memory available today, enabling more than 1Gb of memory on a single chip. IBM eDRAM performance has advanced to a point where it can replace conventional on-chip static memory (SRAM) in many applications, taking up 60 percent less space on the chip, and consuming up to 90 percent less power.

"IBM's Cu-32 technology with ARM advanced physical IP enables chip-makers to get powerful system-on-a-chip solutions quickly to market," said Simon Segars, Executive Vice President and General Manager, ARM physical IP division. "Our collaboration with IBM allows both companies to advance the state-of-the-art in the low-power embedded semiconductors that will help create next-generation networks."

A suite of new high-sped serial cores (HSS) give Cu-32 advanced capabilities to network with more than a dozen different interface standards. Additionally, IBM's silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process helps improve energy efficiency in chips using Cu-32. Since its invention by IBM in 1998, more than 100 million SOI chips have been shipped, powering the newest generation of video games and enabling a wide range of enhanced communications applications. More than twenty of the world's leading semiconductor makers, tool makers and industry suppliers are members of the SOI Industry Consortium, setting the course of future SOI innovation.

Cu-32 offers the industry's first set of HSS cores in 32nm SOI technology including:
- 15G Backplane core supporting 16G Fibre Channel standard
- 15G Chip-to-Chip core supporting low-power optical and chip-to-chip applications
- 28G Backplane core supporting 32G Fibre Channel standard
- 6G standards core supporting PCI-Express Gen1 and Gen2 standards
- PCI-Express Gen3 core supporting PCI-Express Gen1, Gen2, and Gen3 standards

IBM Microelectronics Division

RELATED ARTICLES
IBM 8HP SiGe Technology to Power Tektronix High-speed Oscilloscopes

WiSpry and IBM to Collaborate on Tunable Mobile Terminal Front-end Technology

IBM to Manufacture Infineon's Security Chips

ARM, IBM, Samsung, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Synopsys Announce 32/28nm Design Platform