GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company, has opened for business.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a joint venture between AMD and Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The global semiconductor foundry company serves a broad range of industries and offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor technologies.
By opening for business, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is helping shape the semiconductor industry’s future.
Overview of GLOBALFOUNDRIES
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a leading pure-play semiconductor foundry. With a global footprint of Engineering and Manufacturing sites located in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, GLOBALFOUNDRIES provides the most comprehensive range of specialized technologies for integrated circuit design and manufacturing. Services span 300-millimeter (mm) to 200mm wafers from their R&D centers in Santa Clara, California; Dresden, Germany; East Fishkill, New York; Mazar-Sharif Afghanistan; Singapore and Burlington, Vermont.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES officially opened for business on March 2nd, 2009 with a presence in seven countries – United States, Singapore, Germany, China India and Malaysia – as the world’s first truly global semiconductor foundry company. The company has drawn together more than 70 years of Silicon Valley innovation and expertise with some of the world’s most efficient advanced technologies in silicon processing. As a result, it is uniquely positioned to drive innovation globally by offering customers access to both quality manufacturing sites worldwide and an integrated suite of Development capabilities tailored specifically to the customer’s needs.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES offers one of the industry’s widest range of process technologies spanning from 150nm circuitry to 7 nm FinFETs on 200mm or 300 mm wafers at leading edge nodes of production ready technology. As a pure-play foundry GLOBALFOUNDRIES concentrates exclusively on technology development for fabless companies looking for rapid time-to-market designs – with one stop shopping before mass production starts at any requested Fab foundry site worldwide. The company provides customers with access to 11 fab locations linked by its common technology platform – starting from front end design enablement through back-end assembly test services – resulting in faster time to market from inception idea out into finished product delivery within six months time frame when needed (or weeks for quickly prototyping samples).
GLOBALFOUNDRIES, World’s First Global Semiconductor Foundry Company Opens for Business
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is setting itself apart as the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company. An innovative combination of technologies from both AMD and IBM enables GLOBALFOUNDRIES to bring a vast range of leading-edge foundry services, with customers worldwide.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES gives its customers access to a powerful product roadmap, ranging from 10nm chips down to 7nm and beyond, providing a broad range of mobile, computer, memory and more products.
What sets GLOBALFOUNDRIES apart is its unmatched capabilities in production readiness and flexibility. Its advanced technology platform enables shorter design cycles with unparalleled service level agreement commitments that are tailored to meet customer demands — whether it’s education on process nodes or tight volume timelines at peak load scenarios.
With concurrent manufacturing between two sites in the US and Germany and subsidiaries in China, Singapore and Taiwan, GLOBALFOUNDRIES provides unprecedented value for its chip-making customers around the globe. Plus, leveraging its deep experience in semiconductor IP design kits (PDKs) and design methodology validation tools (DMVs), every step of the customer’s journey from conception to tape out becomes remarkably easy and efficient.
History
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company officially opened for business in 2009. This resulted from a joint venture between two major players in the semiconductor industry, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Advanced Technology Investment Corporation (ATIC).
The new company was originally named The Foundry Company but later renamed GLOBALFOUNDRIES in 2010. The company made its presence felt in the industry from the beginning as it began to attract key customers worldwide.
Founding of GLOBALFOUNDRIES
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company, offering outsourced integrated circuit (IC) production and design to customers worldwide. It was founded in 2009 by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and is currently the second-largest foundry company in the world.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES was formed following a merger of AMD’s foundry group with Singapore-based Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing. The combined entity included 12 fabrication plants worldwide and delivered over 11 million 8 inch equivalent wafer starts annually to customers.
With operations in Singapore, Germany and the United States, GLOBALFOUNDRIES provided a diverse geographic base that enabled its customers to take advantage of regional tax incentives and access best-in-class manufacturing know-how. GLOBALFOUNDRIES offered state-of-the art facilities capable of producing ICs at advanced nodes ranging from 180nm down to 14nm and advanced packaging capabilities for modern SoCs.
Since its founding, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has become a leader in providing innovative manufacturing services tailored to meet customers’ needs across a wide range of end markets such as automotive, mobile computing and medical devices – with increasing focus on higher complex technologies such as 3D NAND memory, logic/mixed signal ICs, embedded nonvolatile memories (eNVM), MEMS/RF switch technologies and more recent activities related to autonomous driving related SoC development amongst others.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ growth over the years
Since 2009, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has experienced tremendous growth, becoming one of the world’s largest semiconductor foundries. In 2011, the company completed its fully-equipped Fab 8 manufacturing facility in Saratoga County, New York. The facility represents a $9 billion investment and is one of the largest economic development projects in the United States.
In subsequent years, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has acquired production facilities in Dresden and Singapore, expanded its operations in Fishkill New York and opened new manufacturing centers in Burlington Vermont and Chengdu China. In 2017 GLOBALFOUNDRIES became the first semiconductor foundry company with global presence to open for business and offer a full portfolio of advanced technologies from sub-14nm FinFETs down to nanometer level processors.
In 2020 GLOBALFOUNDRIES announced it will lead a joint venture with Samsung Electronics which creates a new digital imaging technology center that will combine image sensor design resources from both companies which will enable digital sensor solutions for consumer cameras as well as providing foundry qualifications” to improve process capability for existing sensors applications.
Today, GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ fabs can produce advanced technologies ranging from 45nm down to 7nm+ nodes offering customers highly efficient designs and increased performance across multiple applications platforms. Its comprehensive portfolio includes state-of-the art Front End Process Technology (FEOL), Interconnect Services (BEOL), integrated FinFET transistors products as well as Bulk CMOS (BCMOS) capabilities. In addition, the company’s geographic reach allows customers to access services around the globe via seven strategically located facilities that help meet their specific needs for semiconductor wafers and packages designs unique processes as well as customization requirements.
Products and Services
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the world’s first global semiconductor foundry, providing state-of-the-art products and services to its customers. With a unique manufacturing network, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has become a leader in the foundry service industry and provides innovative solutions for emerging and established markets.
From design and development to prototype manufacturing and production services, GLOBALFOUNDRIES provides comprehensive service for all types of electronic devices.
Let’s explore some of their key products and services.
Overview of GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ products and services
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a leading global semiconductor foundry company focused on expanding customer access to the world’s most advanced fabrication technologies. The company offers access to a broad range of solutions — from immature process nodes to the most advanced — including deep ultraviolet lithography, extreme ultraviolet lithography, strained silicon and micro feature line technology, and analog/mixed-signal solutions for consumer and embedded systems.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES offers products and services for various markets, including consumer electronics, automotive, mobile computing, communications infrastructure and industrial applications. Its global field engineering teams provide immediate customer service and technical support throughout product development.
In addition to its full portfolio of advanced process technologies, GLOBALFOUNDRIES also specializes in product differentiation capabilities such as chip-package integration (CPI), integrated passives (IPA) and copper redistribution layers (CRL). Combined with their embedded memory technology offering QuickLogic™ Embedded FPGA it further strengthens their ability to customize existing off-the-shelf solutions or create unique customer designs.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES also helps customers streamline their engineering development cycles by providing commercial IP libraries as well as SoC design and integration services to develop a customer’s custom design quickly using established design flows powered by Synopsys Global Design Platforms such as Design Compiler®, IC Compiler II®, PrimeTime® Boost analyzers (formerly called HSPICE®), STAR East & West synthesis tools from Synopsys along with digital implementation platforms from Cadence Software® (such as Encounter Digital Implementation Platform™). In addition, GLOBALFOUNDRIES also provides back-end digital manufacturing services that integrate IPs from customers’ frontend digital designs into GDSII tapes for corporate mask shops who cover prototyping needs prior to full production masks release. This enables customers’ smooth transition from high tech design R&D phase into actual production.
How GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ products and services set them apart
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company. Their products and services focus on meeting their customers’ current and future design, production, manufacturing, and test requirements. GLOBALFOUNDRIES provides a wide range of fabless design and production services to a global customer base, including OEMs, emerging technology companies, system firms and foundries.
At GLOBALFOUNDRIES they have dedicated resources in silicon technology, end-to-end supply chain management and advanced manufacturing processes. Through a strong integrated circuit and semiconductor process engineering efforts they can provide customers with some of the most advanced products and services available today. Additionally their state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities provide customers with unparalleled technological flexibility needed to meet their product development needs on time and within budget.
As an established leader in advanced integrated circuits, GLOBALFOUNDRIES boasts a diverse portfolio that includes 6″ discrete products, 5″ CMOS image sensors, digital logic ICs (integrated circuit) as well as Analog/Power ICs. In addition, customers are also able to benefit from such unique products as MEMS based fabrication platform technology which combines thin film deposition techniques with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). This novel approach allows for enhanced performance at lower cost for various next-generation applications across various industries including automotive, mobile media processing, cognitive computing, medical device, industrial automation, consumer applications, endOSAT satellite communication systems.
Furthermore through collaborative partnerships with key industry players such as ARM® Foundry Program participant TSMC’s Global Customer Engineering Team helps ensure that product engineers are never out of sight or out of reach from arm EcoSystem innovation. By harnessing their team’s close working relationship with both ARM® architects, designers foundries looking more engaged with co design at all stages along our customer’s product development cycle. That intimate knowledge allows them to provide our customers critical support: real time performance optimization, functionality validation, power consumption reduction, continuous integration into new silicon technologies coming faster than ever before market demands.
Furthermore, because TSMC serves so many different partners throughout the electronic industry, they focus specifically on providing our customers comprehensive supply chain management solutions. All you need to get your product to move quickly, scale responsibly, and be reliable and compliant with regulations. As complexity increases, strategic collaborators like TSMC become absolutely essential in staying ahead in today’s highly competitive landscape.
Global Reach
GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company, is now open for business. With the opening of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the semiconductor industry has been completely revolutionized, with the potential for global reach in fabrication and design of semiconductor products.
The new foundry company provides global service, meaning customers can access semiconductor expertise from any region of the world. Let’s take a closer look at the global reach that GLOBALFOUNDRIES offers.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ global presence
GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company, opened its doors on July 1 2009. As the industry’s only fully integrated global foundry partner, GLOBALFOUNDRIES provides semiconductor technology, design capabilities, and manufacturing services to customers across the entire spectrum of disciplines worldwide. With operations spanning five continents and multiple facilities strategically located worldwide, GLOBALFOUNDRIES helps customers bring their products to market faster and with greater scalability.
Through a differentiated offering that includes IP integration, performance modeling and optimization services, and a comprehensive suite of process technologies from 28nm down to 90nm for more advanced nodes, no other foundry vendor offers such a wide and integrated portfolio of capabilities. As an innovative market leader, GLOBALFOUNDRIES continues developing leading-edge process technologies by investing heavily in R&D across locations including Malta NY; Dresden, Germany; Fab 3E Penang Malaysia; Abu Dhabi – U A E; East Fishkill NY and Burlington Vermont. In addition, with an expanding network of fabs throughout China, GLOBALFOUNDRIES ensures access to local quick turn capacity while providing seamless transition when scaling up production or moving into new markets.
An unmatched supply chain structure designed for flexibility empowers our customers with flexibility when it comes to continuing innovation in yield optimization processes. With localized customer service centers supported by regional technical teams staffed with experts who are passionate about delivering results, our no boundaries approach allows us to accommodate any project requirements and be a truly global provider of semiconductor design collaboration assistance IC manufacturing services.
How GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ global reach benefits customers
GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ (GF) is the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company, offering a comprehensive portfolio of design and manufacturing services across multiple process technologies that allow its customers to bring their systems, products and energies faster to market. With a presence in the United States, Europe, Japan and Singapore, GF’s global reach gives customers access to its unique combination of technologies and services anywhere they need.
GF’s reach spans five continents – North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East/Africa (MEA) and Latin America – allowing it to provide localized customer engagement across its network. Working with local customers on any technology or design support typically takes four days (for advanced nodes) up to twelve weeks for the leading edge process technologies. Additionally, GF provides access to its world-class engineers who understand regional market requirements, enabling short cycles for product development in various global markets.
In APAC, GF broadly provides access in China, Japan/Korea while MEA expands its reach into Israel, Saudi Arabia and beyond. Through this expansion customers receive dedicated local technical resources available anytime they need to ensure highest levels of customer satisfaction globally. In turn this provides unrivaled flexibility compared to typical foundry offerings available today as the growth opportunities continue rapidly in today’s digital economy, creating success critically dependable on fast access offerings tailored to local needs.
Overall GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ global reach allows customers from all industries and markets around the world quickly implement strategies for success thus accelerating time-to-market complexities ensuring high-quality systems design decisions made easy considering local terms & conditions as well as providing superior local/regional support whenever needed amid an unprecedented level of scalability thus helping them remains competitive longer term across all market landscapes worldwide today like never before!
Conclusion
GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the world’s first global semiconductor foundry company, opened for business in 2009 with a mission to bring together industry-leading technology from existing semiconductor foundry companies and cutting-edge new technology. Over the last twelve years, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has achieved much in its mission to become a world leader in semiconductor design and production.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ success is largely due to its comprehensive portfolio of fabrication processes, major investments in research and development (R&D), creation of innovative technologies and partnerships with top customers gaining access to at-scale process technologies. As a result, GLOBALFOUNDRIES has provided customized solutions across diverse application segments including automotive, mobile computing, wireless communications and industrial markets through its wide range of advanced products and services.
Additionally, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is an active member of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and works within this organization’s standards body to improve and enhance the best practices across all industry segments. In 2018 GLOBALFOUNDRIES was listed on Forbes’ list of “The Best Regarded Companies” after earning high marks from customers for excellence both inside and outside of their industry – reflective of their commitment to providing superior quality products with exceptional customer service at every level.
