GlobalFoundries claims it is just 6 months behind TSMC on 7nm

GlobalFoundries struggled a lot in its recent history but now the company claims things are looking up. We'll believe it when we see it but the foundry claims its 7nm process is exceeding targets and is just six months behind TSMC.

Chief Technology Officer Gary Patton refused to discuss the foundry's pitches on the 7nm node but stressed they have "a very competitive base 7nm offering".

GF’s 7LP process will initially use immersion steppers to pack more than 17 million gates/mm2. It reduces die cost by more than 30 percent based on more than a 50 percent shrink from its 14nm node based on fully laid-out chips. The large shrink is needed to compensate for the need to use triple patterning on some levels.

The node, first announced in September 2016, is now expected to offer more than a 40 percent boost in performance and support up to 17 metal layers. Design kits are available with first customer chips expected to launch in the first half of 2018 and hit volumes late next year.

“We’re open for business on 7nm,” said Gary Patton, GF’s chief technology officer.

GlobalFoundries will start producing 7nm chips in 2018 using traditional immersion technology, and will use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology to further shrink its 7nm node in 2019 and 2020. Full details at EE Times.