Maximum PC: It's taken Intel just three years to shrink its system-on-chip (SoC) process node from 32nm to 14nm (with a pitstop at 22nm along the way), and by 2014, it will be shipping 14nm chips in volume. Can anyone compete? Globalfoundries intends to give it an honest effort by aggressively accelerating its roadmap with a 14nm process of its own. The company's competing 14nm-XM (eXtreme Mobility) process will leverage 3D FinFET transistor technology for higher performance and better power efficiency in mobile devices.
AMD has achieved 'full flexibility' for 7nm or lower process nodes
Maximum PC: AMD bumped up its purchase commitments with GlobalFoundries in 2014 by about $50 million. Under terms of the amended Wafer Supply Agreement (WSA), AMD expects to pay $1.2 billion in all this year, though what's interesting is that the deal is no longer limited to traditional CPUs and APUs; it now includes GPUs and semi-custom game console chips, such as those found in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4.
Maximum PC: Remember M.C. Hammer? Someone press play on "Can't Touch This," which should be the theme song for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the top contract chip supplier in 2012. Barring something extraordinary, TSMC will probably lead 2013 sales too, considering its nearest competitor, Globalfoundries, raked in almost four times less cash last year.
Keep trying
it's so tiny!
The physics behind these dye shrinks is just getting crazy.