Neubiberg, Germany and Hsinchu, Taiwan: German chipmaker Infineon Technologies and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will extend their development and production partnership to a 65nm embedded flash (eFlash) process technology targeting next-generation automotive, chip card, and security applications.
Based on the agreement, Infineon and TSMC will jointly develop 65nm process technologies for eFlash microcontrollers (MCUs) that fulfill the stringent quality requirements of the automotive industry, as well as the demanding security requirements of the chip card and security markets. The partnership extension with TSMC is in line with Infineon’s strategy to outsource manufacturing and to engage in technology co-development for 65nm and smaller geometry processes.
The 65nm eFlash technology for automotive applications supports the high degree of functional integration required that drives the performance and features called for in future safety and emission standards, Infineon says.
Additionally, 65nm eFlash for chip-card and security applications will support Infineon’s focus on tailored security for applications in the smart-card form factor and beyond. Process and product qualification for security MCUs is scheduled for the second half of 2012. Automotive MCU qualification and production start is scheduled for the first half of 2013.
Infineon’s 32-bit TriCore family MCUs will be the first automotive products produced on the 65nm eFlash process. Ultimately, TSMC will manufacture Infineon’s range of security microcontrollers that feature contact-based, contact-less or dual interface.
Infineon claims to be one of two market leaders that both held a 9.5% share of the worldwide automotive electronics market in 2008, worth about €18.3 billion. Infineon is the number one chip-card semiconductor vendor, with 25.5% of the worldwide market valued at €2.4 billion in 2008. TSMC is the only dedicated foundry to offer 0.25-micron and 0.18-micron embedded flash IP that meet the AEC-Q100 specification.