Toshiba Corp. and NEC Electronics Corp. have agreed to collaborate on the development of CMOS logic process technology for the 45 nm generation. As advances in semiconductor process technologies become more complex, time consuming and expensive, the joint development will allow the companies to share burdens and accelerate development, while raising system LSI performance and quality.
Under the terms of the agreement, engineers from both companies will collaborate at Toshiba’s Advanced Microelectronics Centre in Yokohama, Japan, on development of fundamental CMOS process technology, which they will be able to implement at their manufacturing facilities. The companies will also separately discuss how to handle the development of value-added and differentiated process technologies. The companies have also begun to discuss comprehensive collaboration in development, such as design environments and product development, as well as collaboration in manufacturing to achieve more efficient use of capital investment and increase capacity utilization rates.