Microsoft started manufacturing its Xbox 360 graphics-memory subsystem using Taiwan Semiconductor’s (TSMC) 90nm embedded DRAM process, which features a high-density macro design (80Mb) and 500MHz performance. The process is a CMOS logic process with an add-on memory module, and is ideal for system-on-chip (SoC) platforms used in high-bandwidth applications like game consoles. "The TSMC 90nm eDRAM process is exactly what we need to further strengthen our position in console gaming and entertainment," Bill Adamec, senior director of semiconductor technology at Microsoft, said in a statement. TSMC has produced 90nm embedded DRAM since the first quarter of 2006, and the design team has developed sets of memory macros that are used in over a dozen 90nm customer products. Less than half the size of an embedded SRAM macro, TSMC 90nm eDRAM works well for low-power applications like handheld and miniature consumer electronics.
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