IBM, Chartered extend technology development pact

IBM and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, a contract chip maker in Singapore, have agreed to extend a semiconductor technology development partnership that the two companies began in 2002.

Under terms of the agreement, IBM and Chartered will jointly develop 45-nanometer process technology used to manufacture semiconductors, Chartered said in a statement released Monday. (The reference to size used when describing a chip-making process refers to the average feature size on a chip built using that process).

In November 2002, Chartered and IBM agreed to jointly develop 90-nanometer and 65-nanometer process technologies used to manufacture semiconductors on 300-millimeter silicon wafers.

The latest partnership agreement extends that relationship between the two companies through June 2008, Chartered said. The joint development work will be undertaken at IBM's chip fabrication plant (fab) in East Fishkill, New York. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Chartered's partnership with IBM was credited by the company with playing a role in helping the company sign a production agreement with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). AMD has a separate technology development partnership with IBM, and this shared connection has been cited as one reason AMD and Chartered came together.