Fujitsu, Sony Plan to Cooperate

Staff -- Semiconductor International, 3/1/1998

Fujitsu Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) and Sony Corp. (Tokyo, Japan) announced plans to cooperate in the development, design and manufacture of 0.18 µm (180 nm) system LSI chips. The companies will begin holding discussions this spring. They expect improved design efficiency and shortened product development times to result, as well as a strong business position for the technology.

The basic framework of the cooperative effort is as follows. Fujitsu would provide Sony with 0.18 µm logic process technology, and the two companies would jointly develop it for chips integrating logic with embedded DRAM. They would set up a unified production line at a Fujitsu factory in Mie Prefecture. Production is planned to begin in fall 1999.

The two companies expect to establish a cooperative environment for the design of 0.18 µm generation circuits and share a basic cell library. They are also considering cooperation in developing 0.13 µm (130 nm) process technology.