Next-Generation “Trinity” APU Launches on 32nm HKMG Technology

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AMD’s First Trinity Shipment

Today our friends over at AMD officially launched their second-generation A-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), codenamed “Trinity.” Manufactured on our 32nm High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) process technology, the new chips are targeted at a variety of applications ranging from ultrathin notebooks to traditional desktops.

The new APUs have been greeted with many positive reviews highlighting their excellent performance-per-watt, strong battery life, and differentiated graphics capabilities—all of which are enabled in part by the close collaboration between GLOBALFOUNDRIES and AMD to deliver innovative silicon technology. “Trinity” is built on the same fab process as its predecessor “Llano,” a 32nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology that utilizes a number of innovations to maximize performance and minimize power consumption, such as strained silicon, embedded silicon germanium, dual stressed liner, and advanced interconnect materials.

But it’s the HKMG integration that sets this technology apart. We chose a Gate First approach to HKMG at the 32nm node because it provides a ~100% density increase, up to 40% increased speed, and 40% reduction in energy/switch when compared to 45nm. It also offers a smaller die size compared to alternative “Gate Last” approaches and maintains many of the same design layout advantages as 45nm, making it an easier transition for designers.

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Die Shot

Our 32nm HKMG yields are now at best-in-class levels at Fab 1 in Dresden. In fact, we recently announced the shipment of our 250,000th 32nm HKMG wafer—an order of magnitude more HKMG wafers than any competing foundry has shipped—and we are rapidly putting that milestone in the rearview mirror as we continue to crank out new silicon.

We’re pleased to see that this message has been picked up in the early coverage of the “Trinity” launch. For example, in a story by EETimes, analyst Nathan Brookwood of Insight 64 is quoted as saying:

AMD has put yield issues with GlobalFoundries way behind them from everything I have heard. Six months ago, I would have been shocked if someone said [Intel and AMD] would be ramping [their latest CPUs] in parallel, but that’s what we are seeing.

For more information on the launch of “Trinity,” visit AMD’s product launch page, which includes images, videos, presentations, and more.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES at DAC 2012 – Register now for our seminars!

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This year’s DAC is taking place from June 4-6 in San Francisco.

From June 4-6, GLOBALFOUNDRIES will be attending the 49th annual Design Automation Conference (DAC) San Francisco, California – the premier event for the design of electronic circuits and systems and EDA and silicon solutions.

During the conference we’ll be leading a series of technical seminars, which you can register for now! Our seminars are with leading EDA and IP suppliers at DAC that tackle 28nm readiness and the ramp to 20nm solutions. We’ll also have several private conference rooms at DAC and would be pleased to schedule a private meeting with you.

During the event we’ll be at booth #303, so stop by to learn about how we’re helping more than 160 semiconductor companies develop and deploy highly innovative and cost effective manufacturing solutions that span the consumer, computing, communication, and industrial/automotive technology segments. Here are a few of the things you’ll see at our booth:

  • A view of our global fab capacity: 200nm, 300nm; mature technologies and leading edge 28nm capacity ready for production
  • Design enablement leadership: DFM; analog and digital reference flows; PDK IP solutions
  • Value Added Solutions: RF CMOS; green OTP; customers successes
  • A showcase of our ecosystem partners including demonstrations of their design, enablement, IP and implementation offerings with GLOBALFOUNDRIES
  • Technical seminars with leading EDA and IP partners on 28nm readiness and the ramp to 20nm solutions
  • In the name of true collaboration, featured partners will be demonstrating their solutions in our booth.

We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco!

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Welcomes President Barack Obama to NY’s Capital Region

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President Obama will be in New York’s Capital Region on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, May 8, GLOBALFOUNDRIES will help host President Barack Obama during his visit to New York’s Capital Region. While the visit was originally planned to be held at Fab 8, it will now take place at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering’s (CNSE) NanoTech Complex at the State University of New York in Albany for logistical reasons.

President Obama’s visit will highlight the historic public and private investments in new advanced manufacturing, research and development, and education facilities helping to revitalize upstate New York and strategically position the United States in the global economy.

New York’s Tech Valley is now a major hub for the global technology industry, attracting big firms, such as GLOBALFOUNDRIES, GE and IBM, as well as their suppliers, and smaller start-ups companies. The region is also home to world-renowned education and research facilities such as the global semiconductor research consortia SEMATECH, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, and CNSE at the University of Albany.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES CEO, Ajit Manocha, shared his excitement about President Obama’s visit: “The President’s visit highlights the success of this region to create new public-private economic development initiatives. We’re proud of the role we are playing as a leading semiconductor manufacturer, investing in the new R&D and manufacturing operations now driving innovation, creating new jobs, and increasing economic opportunities throughout the Capital Region. On behalf of our more than 12,000 employees worldwide, and our more than 1,500 employees in New York, I thank President Obama and leaders in this region for recognizing the impact our investments are making to create new jobs and develop upstate New York as a premier hub for the global economy.”

Click here for more information on this visit.

ABC World News with Diane Sawyer To Feature Fab 8 in “Made in America” Series

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David Muir talks to a class of Ballston Spa High School students at the HVCC TEC-SMART campus. The students are part of the Clean Technologies & Sustainable Industries Early College High School program. Many of the students expressed an interest in eventually starting a career in high-tech at GLOBALFOUNDRIES.

On Monday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m., ABC World News with Diane Sawyer will feature GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Fab 8 in its special “Made in America” series. The segment will focus on how Fab 8 is is bringing high-quality jobs to U.S. residents and improving the local economy.

Earlier this month, David Muir from ABC World News spent a day touring Fab 8 and speaking with local students, teachers and businesses owners in the community who are already seeing the positive impact of the company’s new advanced manufacturing operations.

Rear Admiral David W. Titley Visits Fab 8; Discusses Hiring Initiatives for Military Veterans

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Rear Admiral David W. Titley speaks at Fab 8.

On April 26, Rear Admiral David W. Titley, assistant deputy chief of Naval operations for information dominance, visited GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Fab 8 to tour the facility and learn more about the Fab’s economic impact in the region and the company’s efforts to hire U.S. military veterans; to date, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has hired approximately 100 veterans to work at Fab 8.

Rear Admiral Titley’s visit was part of the U.S. Navy’s 50/50 Program, an outreach effort which features 50 senior Navy leaders in 50 cities throughout the country. His two-day visit to the Capital Region included visits with corporate executives, community leaders, government officials, local universities and community colleges, and members of the media to discuss the Navy’s mission, capabilities and relevance to national security and the impacts to the Capital Region.

Rear Admiral Titley met with GLOBALFOUNDRIES executives to discuss the company’s hiring initiatives for U.S. military veterans. The company is working to recruit more military veterans at Fab 8, working closely with the NYSDOL and participating in veteran specific job fairs at Fort Drum and the NYSDOL Veterans Career event.

Rear Admiral David W. Titley.

Enabling the Next Generation of Packaging Innovation

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Today we announced a significant milestone on the road to enabling 3D stacking of chips for next-generation mobile and consumer applications. At our Fab 8 campus in Saratoga County, NY, we recently began installation of a special set of production tools to create Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) in semiconductor wafers processed on our leading-edge 20nm technology platform.

In the following video, we sat down with David McCann, senior director of packaging R&D, to get a better sense of the significance of this announcement, as well as GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ overarching strategy to enable next-generation packaging technologies.

Bringing MEMS to the Mainstream

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A GLOBALFOUNDRIES employee loading MEMS wafers into an automated wafer bonding system.

2011 was a challenging year for the semiconductor industry by almost any measure. A powerful combination of global economic malaise and two major natural disasters were contributing factors to the nearly flat growth seen by the overall market for integrated circuits. Yet in spite of these headwinds, some industry segments saw strong growth in 2011, driven in large part by consumers’ seemingly endless demand for smart mobile devices and consumer electronics with new feature sets.

One such segment is the market for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). In 2011 the MEMS market grew 17 percent to reach $10.2 billion, according to market research firm Yole Developpement. MEMS are found in applications ranging from automotive sensors and inkjet printers to high-end smartphones and gaming controllers. However, MEMS manufacturing has been primarily confined to specialists who practice a “one process, one product” approach. To allow the MEMS market to continue its rapid growth, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is pursuing an aggressive strategy to bring MEMS from a specialty manufacturing platform to high-volume production by focusing on standardization similar to advanced CMOS processes.

One of our key MEMS customers is InvenSense, a leading provider of MEMS products for motion interface technology. InvenSense products can be found in applications including smartphones, tablets, gaming devices, optical image stabilization, and remote controls for Smart TVs. The company recently announced that GLOBALFOUNDRIES has completed the installation of their patented and proprietary fabrication platform and that we are fully qualified for high volume shipments. In the announcement, InvenSense Founder and CEO Steve Nasiri highlighted the importance of bringing MEMS to the mainstream through a high-volume foundry manufacturing approach:

Many of today’s MEMS companies have been stuck with their old ways in making MEMS for the past 25 to 30 years and missed the opportunities to bring truly game changing fabrications and product innovations to the MEMS industry and to their customer. [W]e believe that the InvenSense fabrication platform is a game changing technology that is expected to transform the way the MEMS industry will bring innovations and new products to the market into the future.

At GLOBALFOUNDRIES, our MEMS capabilities are based primarily at our Fab 3E facility in Singapore. We have a strong track record of MEMS manufacturing and many CMOS-based technologies that can be utilized by MEMS. We are now prototyping several customers’ products and ramping to volume production in our MEMS line. Be on the lookout for more details and news about our MEMS manufacturing strategy in the coming months.