While what DigiTimes is reporting on is only the first tape out, it is still very interesting to see TSMC hitting 16nm process testing and doing it with the 3D transistor technology we have come to know as FinFET. It was a 64-bit ARM Cortex-A57 chip that was created using this process, unfortunately we did not get much information about what comprised the chip apart from the slide you can see below.
As it can be inferred by the mention that it can run alongside big.LITTLE chips it will not be of the same architecture, nor will it be confined to cellphones. This does help reinforce TSMC's position in the market for keeping up with the latest fabrication trends and another solid ARM contract will also keep the beancounters occupied. You can't expect to see these chips immediately but this is a solid step towards an new process being mastered by TSMC.
"The achievement is the first milestone in the collaboration between ARM and TSMC to jointly optimize the 64-bit ARMv8 processor series on TSMC FinFET process technologies, the companies said. The pair has teamed up to produce Cortex-A57 processors and libraries to support early customer implementations on 16nm FinFET for ARM-based SoCs."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Wiping a Smartphone Still Leaves Data Behind @ Slashdot
- ARM processor competition to fire up @ DigiTimes
- Physicists bang the drum for quantum memory @ The Register
- Intel Haswell Socket H Heatsink Requirements and Overclocking Thoughts @ Tweaktown
- Killing Your Internet with Killer Ethernet @ Techgage
- Backdoors Found In Bitlocker, FileVault and TrueCrypt? @ TechARP
- Win ASRock FM2A85X Extreme 6 & Seasonic M12II-850 @ Kitguru
- Win Enermax Goodies From Insomnia i48 @ eTeknix
- NikKTech & Synology Joint Giveaway – One DiskStation DS213+ Up For Grabs
- The TR Podcast 131: News from GDC and FCAT attacks
- Dispatches from the Nexus @ The Tech Report
- AMD touts unified gaming strategy @ The Tech Report
- Intel gets serious about graphics for gaming @ The Tech Report