NEC said yesterday it would join IBM and six other semiconductor companies who are focused on developing new methods of manufacturing 32nm processors. The other six include Charted Semiconductor, Freescale, Infineon Technologies, Samsung, STMicroelectronics, and Toshiba, with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University of Albany in New York also contributing.

The IBM-assembled alliance is attempting to create chips that use standard, bulk CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) technology in the manufacturing process. Benefits of going this route include a 35 percent increase in performance over 45nm parts, while also cutting power consumption in half. The double-whammy would prove particularly attractive for mobile computing.

For its part, Intel is also working on a 32nm design. Chips built on the shrunken process are expected to debut in mid-2009. No date has been set for when IBM and its collaboration of companies will bring 32nm processors to market.

Image Credit: IBM and NEC

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