TSMC Increases Wafer Prototyping Availability by 50 Percent in the First Half of 2001.Business Editors/Technology Writers HSIN-CHU, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2000 Engineers Who Design in 0.15- and 0.13-Micron Geometries Can Double Their Prototype Volume With CyberShuttle(TM) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :TSM TSM Tivoli Storage Manager TSM Transportation System Management TSM Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (stock symbol) TSM Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. ), the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, today announced that it will increase its CyberShuttle prototyping volume by 50 percent in the first half of 2001. Already the foundry industry's most active device-prototyping program, CyberShuttle is expected to launch as many as 70 shuttles and serve as many as 200 designs in the first six months of 2001. TSMC TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation TSMC Traffic Systems Management Center TSMC Toll Station Management Controller TSMC Transportation Supply Maintenance Command TSMC Technical Services Manager Code launched 33 shuttles in the first half of 2000, accommodating more than 100 designs. By the end of the first half of 2001, TSMC estimates it will have delivered 1,950 designs on the CyberShuttle since inception. CyberShuttle is TSMC's engineering prototyping program, lowering designers' entry barrier to TSMC's advanced technology by offering a low-cost mask sharing prototyping service. CyberShuttle also enables concurrent engineering of multiple SOC products through frequent shuttle launches, and accelerates the availability of silicon-verified design elements by providing test chip capabilities for EDA (1) (Electronic Design Automation) Using the computer to design, lay out, verify and simulate the performance of electronic circuits on a chip or printed circuit board. , library and IP providers. By doubling the number of available shuttles, TSMC is opening the doors to new designs and new intellectual property (IP) validated on TSMC silicon. CyberShuttle includes the industry's leading technologies, including 0.25-, 0.18-, 0.15- and 0.13-micron processes. "Using CyberShuttle, an IC designer can take an average 0.25-micron design to silicon within 45 days at a cost of less than $25,000," said Mike Pawlik, vice president of corporate marketing for TSMC. "The end result could be 40 to 80 finished samples, depending on the size of each device. In fact, with the decrease in line widths, it is possible for one designer to run two or more designs at the same time, greatly reducing overall design time for multiple products." Among the launches set through the first half of 2001, 30 percent will be run on the 0.13 process, and another 20 percent will be targeted to TSMC's 0.15 process. Earlier this year, TSMC became the first foundry in the industry to offer prototyping of integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. in the 0.13-micron geometry, the geometry that truly enables high-performance, high-density system-on-chip designs. CyberShuttle targets a number of process options, including logic, mixed-signal, embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. memory and RF, as well as low-voltage and low-power options. It can be effective for designers of systems-on-chip, where various IP blocks are re-used from one design to the next. CyberShuttle provides fabless designers and IDMs with a quick and easy platform for verifying interfaces between multiple IP blocks without risking huge volumes of product. Third-party IP providers also use CyberShuttle to validate their products in TSMC silicon. In addition to expanding its capacity, TSMC will soon implement its OnlineRequest capability, a transparent, Web-based system for CyberShuttle wafer ordering and tracking. Designers can use it to track orders and work in progress, enabling just-in-time planning for product testing or sampling. An intuitive registration page allows new users of TSMC's CyberShuttle program to apply for placement on a shuttle. OnlineRequest is one of many features of TSMC's eFoundry(TM) initiative to improve the foundry supply chain through expanded use of advanced online services. About TSMC TSMC is the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, providing the industry's leading process technology, library and IP options and other leading-edge foundry services. TSMC operates seven eight-inch wafer fabs (Fab 3, 4, 5, 6, TASMC TASMC Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Israel) , WSMC WSMC Willow Springs Motorcycle Club WSMC Washington State Mathematics Council WSMC Western Space and Missile Center WSMC World Space Modelling Championships WSMC Weapon System Management Code WSMC White Sands Missile Center and WaferTech), and two six-inch wafer fabs (Fabs 1 and 2). In addition, the company has begun construction of a $1.2 billion joint venture fab with Philips Semiconductor, which is scheduled to open in Singapore in 2000. TSMC recently broke ground for its first 12-inch fabs, Fab 7 in Tainan and Fab 12 in Hsin-Chu. In 2000, TSMC expects to have the capacity for nearly 3.4 million 8-inch equivalent wafers wafers compressed roughage in flat plates useful for feeding to animals in transit. . Fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. processes offered by TSMC include CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. logic, mixed-mode, volatile and non-volatile memory Refers to memory chips that hold their content without power being applied. It may refer to chips that are not changeable, such as ROMs and PROMs, or to chips that can be rewritten many times such as flash memory. , and BiCMOS. TSMC's corporate headquarters are in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. More information about TSMC is available through the World Wide Web at http://www.tsmc.com. Note to Editors: CyberShuttle is a trademark of TSMC. eFoundry is a trademark of TSMC. |
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