Micron Technology, Inc. headquarters in Boise, Idaho. Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Courtesy of Micron

Armonk, N.Y. & Boise, Idaho, USA - December 01, 2011

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Micron Technology, Inc. announced today that Micron will begin production of a new memory device built using the first commercial CMOS manufacturing technology to employ through-silicon vias (TSVs).

Steven R. Appleton, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Micron Technology Inc. Courtesy of Micron

IBM's advanced TSV chip-making process enables Micron's Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) to achieve speeds 15 times faster than today's technology.

IBM will present the details of its TSV manufacturing breakthrough at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting on December 5 in Washington, DC., USA.

Micron's Hybrid Memory Cube features a stack of individual chips connected by vertical pipelines or “vias,” shown above. IBM’s new 3-D manufacturing technology, used to connect the 3D micro structure, will be the foundation for commercial production of the new memory cube. Courtesy of IBM

HMC parts will be manufactured at IBM's advanced semiconductor fab in East Fishkill, N.Y., using the company's 32nm, high-K metal gate process technology.

HMC technology uses advanced TSVs - vertical conduits that electrically connect a stack of individual chips - to combine high-performance logic with Micron's state-of-the-art DRAM.

John Cohn, IBM Fellow.            IBM Microelectronics - Smarter silicon for wireless communications Courtesy of IBM

HMC delivers bandwidth and efficiencies a leap beyond current device capabilities.

HMC prototypes, for example, clock in with bandwidth of 128 gigabytes per second (GB/s).
By comparison, current state-of-the-art devices deliver 12.8 GB/s.

John Cohn, IBM Fellow.            IBM Microelectronics - Smarter silicon for wireless communications IBM has supplied over 3 billion power management devices and more than 200 million transceivers and wireless radios for mobile devices. Ranked as the number 1 ASIC supplier for wired communications and recognized as an industry leader in SiGe technology, IBM delivers a range of semiconductor offerings designed to deliver the performance, density, function, power optimization and reliability needed to handle evolving connectivity, data traffic and networking infrastructure demands. Courtesy of IBM

HMC also requires 70 percent less energy to transfer data while offering a small form factor - just 10 percent of the footprint of conventional memory.

HMC will enable a new generation of performance in applications ranging from large-scale networking and high-performance computing, to industrial automation and, eventually, consumer products.

Dr. Subramanian (Subu) Iyer, IBM Fellow. Photo: LinkedIn

"This is a milestone in the industry move to 3D semiconductor manufacturing," said Subu Iyer, IBM Fellow.
"The manufacturing process we are rolling out will have applications beyond memory, enabling other industry segments as well. In the next few years, 3D chip technology will make its way into consumer products, and we can expect to see drastic improvements in battery life and functionality of devices."

Robert Feurle, Vice President of DRAM Marketing for Micron. Courtesy of Micron

"HMC is a game changer, finally giving architects a flexible memory solution that scales bandwidth while addressing power efficiency," said Robert Feurle, Vice President of DRAM Marketing for Micron.
"Through collaboration with IBM, Micron will provide the industry's most capable memory offering."

Steve Appleton, Micron Chairman and CEO. Steve Appleton accepted the Semiconductor Industry Association’s (SIA’s) highest honor - the Robert N. Noyce Award. November 3, 2011. Courtesy of Micron

Additional information, technical specifications, tools and support for adopting HMC technology can be found at micron.com.


About Micron

Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions.

Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets a full range of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products.

Micron's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the MU symbol.

To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit www.micron.com  


About IBM

For more information about IBM's advanced semiconductor products and manufacturing processes visit www.ibm.com/chips  


Contacts information

Michael Corrado
IBM Media Relations
914-766-4635
mcorrado@us.ibm.com  

Scott Stevens
Micron
512-288-4050
sstevens@micron.com  


Source: IBM

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/index.wss  


Video
Smarter silicon for wireless communications

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNH9pwcsI7Q&feature  



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