Globalfoundries developing 10nm in-house

Globalfoundries plans to develop 10nm process technology in-house instead of relying on licensing from Samsung, according to industry sources.

In April 2014, Globalfoundries and Samsung jointly announced their collaboration to deliver production capacity for 14nm FinFET process technology, which was developed by Samsung and licensed to Globalfoundries.

Globalfoundries and Samsung have teamed up to successfully grab 14nm chip orders from Apple, Qualcomm and AMD, said the sources. The pair once stood a good chance of obtaining orders from Nvidia, which is still sticking with TSMC for 16nm FinFET production, the sources indicated.

However, Globalfoundries has moved to develop its next-generation 10nm process technology internally, after finding that partnering with Samsung is not quite a cost-effective strategy, the sources observed.

In fact, the partnership between Globalfoundries and Samsung has begun to lose its competitive advantage, the sources said. Though the pair beat TSMC in the 14/16nm FinFET race, TSMC has improved the yield rate of its 16nm FinFET fast and is ramping up the process production quickly. The smooth ramping and stable yield performance could help TSMC win back orders from Qualcomm and AMD, the sources noted.

For Globalfoundries, paying Samsung licensing fees will be more expensive than using IBM's IPs to develop its own technology, the sources suggested. Besides, Globalfoundries recently completed its acquisition of IBM's microelectronics business. The addition of engineering workforce from IBM's chip-manufacturing unit will surely make a positive contribution to Globalfoundries' development of 10nm and more advanced process technologies in-house, the sources said.

Rumors circulated previously that a group of China-based investors supported financially by the government is eyeing Globalfoundries because of the acquisition target's 14nm FinFET technology. But the sources noted that since Globalfoundries' 14nm FinFET technology is licensed by Samsung, the Korea-based vendor would not allow its technology to be sold through such a deal.