ARM and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company have announced a long-term agreement that provides TSMC with access to a broad range of ARM processors and enables the development of ARM physical IP across TSMC technology nodes. This agreement supports the companies’ mutual customers to achieve optimized systems-on-chip (SoC) based on ARM processors and covers a wide range of process nodes extending down to 20nm.

The agreement provides TSMC access to optimize the implementation of ARM processors on TSMC process technologies, including ARM Cortex processor family and CoreLink interconnect fabric for AMBA protocols. It also establishes a long-term relationship with ARM for the development of physical IP, including memory products and standard cell libraries targeting the most advanced TSMC 28nm and 20nm processes.

ARM and TSMC will collaborate on creating TSMC technology optimized processor core implementations for benchmarking of optimal power, performance and area. Typical implementations will target consumer-centric market segments including wireless, portable computing, tablet PCs and high performance computing.

“We believe this effort will enhance the value of our Open Innovation Platform that efficiently empowers innovation throughout the supply chain. The combination of ARM’s industry leading IP and TSMC’s world-class technology and manufacturing provides our mutual customers with compelling benefits for advanced semiconductor applications," said Fu-Chieh Hsu, vice president of design and technology platform and deputy head of research and development at TSMC.

Tags: TSMC, Semiconductor, 20nm, 28nm