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UMC Manufactures Foundry IndustryВ’s First Chips Using 28nm Process Technology.

UMC Announces Foundry IndustryВ’s First 28nm SRAMs

[10/27/2008 10:40 PM]
by Anton Shilov

United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), a leading contract maker of semiconductors, on Monday announced that it has manufactured the foundry industry’s first fully functional 28nm SRAM chips.

The chips are based on UMC’s independently developed low-leakage (LL) process technology. UMC utilized advanced double-patterning immersion lithography and strained silicon technology to produce the chips, which feature very small six-transistor SRAM cell sizes of approximately 0.122 micron².

UMC incorporates a dual approach for its 28nm technology to address different market applications. The f

(Full article ‘UMC Manufactures Foundry Industry’s First Chips Using 28nm Process Technology’)

Intel’s remote wake-up chip could finally turn PCs into phones.

One of the biggest drawbacks of current PC-based internet phone services such as Skype, which allow people to make phone calls from their computers over the internet for free or for reduced fees, is that you can’t receive calls when the computer is turned off. But that is changing with a new chipset introduced by Intel on Thursday that allows computers to wake from ’sleep’ to accept calls and do other tasks, such as accepting downloaded content.

Intel has teamed up with Jajah, a California-based VoIP start-up, to allow Jajah users to receive calls on their PCs when their computers are in ’sleep mode’.

“The Intel technology turns the PC into a PBX for the home,” said Trevor Healy, chief executive of Jajah.

(Full article ‘Intel chipset could turn PCs into phones’)

Microsoft Corp. is expected to report a sharp rise in quarterly profit this week, boosted by surging revenue as strong computer sales drive demand for its Windows operating system and Office software.

Investors will also look at its full-year outlook to see if the world’s largest software maker can maintain momentum from a strong first quarter in the face of growing concerns over the U.S. economy. Microsoft will reports fiscal second-quarter results tomorrow.

Economic concerns and stock market declines have erased the share price gains that followed its first-quarter results, but analysts said PC sales figures last week suggest any economic softness did not weigh on year-end demand.

“We’re looking for Microsoft to continue to have positive results.

(Full article ‘Microsoft expected to post sharp profit rise’)

IBM has licensed its next-generation technology for manufacturing processors to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, the largest chipmaker in China, the companies said on Wednesday.

The partnership spotlights the growing technical abilities in China, a country that’s already a manufacturing powerhouse for lower-tech products. Terms of the IBM deal weren’t disclosed.

The circuitry on microprocessors has steadily shrunk in size, letting manufacturers squeeze more features onto chips, reduce power consumption and lower chip prices.

(Full article ‘IBM licenses 45nm technology in China’)

We at like to think that our coverage of the news and trends shaping the enterprise technology world is the best in the business. But not even (not to mention our competitors) can connect all the dots as they’re forming — the welter of news and the fast pace of events sometimes makes that difficult. That’s why we’ve revisited the sea of dots to make those connections that weren’t evident at first.

Our staff reporters, editors and contributors have taken a hard look at 2007 and come up with a list of 10 stories that you need to know about as we enter what looks to be a challenging, fast-paced new year.

Application development? Java is becoming the new Cobol. Hardware and networking? A new generation of blade servers is moving into the small-to-midsize business market, and end-to-end Ethernet has finally arrived.

(Full article ‘The top 10 underreported technology stories of 2007′)