ARM Drives the Future of Premium Mobile Computing with a Multicore Test Chip Based on 10FinFET from TSMC

ARM today announced the first multicore, 64-bit ARM®v8-A processor test chip based on TSMC’s 10FinFET process technology. Simulation benchmarks show impressive power and efficiency gains relative to TSMC’s 16FinFET+ process technology, which is currently used to implement chips powering many of today’s leading premium smartphones.

The successful validation of the test chip (tape out completed in Q4 of 2015) is an important milestone in ARM and TSMC’s successful ongoing collaboration. The fully validated complete design enablement solution includes IP, EDA tools, design flow and methodology to enable new customer tape-outs on TSMC’s most advanced FinFET process. In addition, SoC designers can now use the foundation IP building blocks (standard cell libraries, embedded memories and standard I/Os) to develop the most competitive SoCs for the highest possible performance with lowest power and area.

"Efficiency is a primary guiding principle in SoC design for premium mobile applications due to increasing demands on device performance,” said Pete Hutton, executive vice president and president of product groups, ARM. "TSMC’s 16FFLL+ process and ARM Cortex^® processors have already set new standards for efficiency. Our collaboration with TSMC on 10FinFET ensures SoC-wide efficiency that will allow our silicon partners even greater room to innovate while staying within strict power budgets.”

"Our partnership with ARM offers our ecosystem rapid advances in process and IP and accelerates customer product development cycles,” said Dr. Cliff Hou, vice president, R&D, TSMC. "Together, we are defining processor technologies that continue to propel the mobile market. Our latest endeavor, enabling ARM processors on TSMC 10FinFET technology, is transformative for the end user experience across premium mobile and a diverse range of consumer electronic goods.”

The latest test chip is the result of ARM and TSMC’s long-standing commitment to advanced process technologies, building on the initial 10FinFET partnership announced in October 2014. Mutual ARM and TSMC silicon partners have also benefitted from early access to ARM Artisan^® physical IP and 16nm FinFET+ tape-outs of the ARM Cortex-A72 processor, the high-performance processor powering many of today’s best-selling primary compute devices.

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More about the ARM and TSMC Collaboration

• ARM and TSMC Announce Multi-Year Agreement to Collaborate on 7nm FinFET Process Technology for High-Performance Compute (March 2016)
• ARM and TSMC Unveil Roadmap for 64-bit ARM-based Processors on 10FinFET Process Technology (October 2014)
• TSMC and ARM set new Benchmarks for Performance and Power Efficiency with First Announced FinFET Silicon with 64-bit ARM big.LITTLE Technology (September 2014)
• ARM and TSMC Tape Out First ARM Cortex-A57 Processor (April 2013)

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