Advanced Micro Devices and IBM are expected to announce that they are extending their existing agreement concerning development of fabrication processes for their chips through 2011, which is likely to involve 32nm and 22nm manufacturing technology.

Currently no details except of the fact that the researchers from both companies will work on 32nm and 22nm fabrication technologies till 2011 are known and no official announcements made. But Craig Sander, corporate vice president for technology development at Sunnyvale, California-based AMD, told The Mercury News that AMD researchers would work directly with IBM’s research division to develop manufacturing technologies several years before they are commercialized.

AMD and IBM has been working together on development of manufacturing processes for a number of years already. Currently IBM’s and AMD’s chips are made using similar 90nm process technology featuring silicon-on-insulator (SOI). The companies also do early exploratory research on new chip technologies such as transistors, chip connection and packaging.

Co-development of manufacturing technologies allows AMD and IBM to share the cost of fabrication process development. Furthermore, aligning the manufacturing capacities allows IBM to manufacture chips for AMD as well as its partners.