TSMC and NXP, building on previous 16nm designs, are expanding their collaboration to create a System-on-Chip (SoC) platform in 5nm to deliver a new generation of automotive processors. Using TSMC’s 5nm process, NXP’s offerings will look to address a number of functions and workloads, such as connected cockpits, high-performance domain controllers, autonomous driving, advanced networking, hybrid propulsion control and integrated chassis management.
TSMC’s 5nm technology is currently the world’s most advanced process in volume production. NXP will adopt N5P, an enhanced version of TSMC’s 5nm technology, which provides about 20 percent faster speed or about 40 percent power reduction compared to the preceding 7nm generation, and is supported by a comprehensive design ecosystem.
NXP’s developments on 5nm, initially based on its established S32 architecture, will lead to new architectures offering scalability and a common software environment, simplifying and enabling a significant increase in software performance that's now required. Leveraging the computing power and power efficiency of the 5nm technology, NXP will look to meet the high levels of integration, power management and compute power that are required for advanced vehicle architectures.
"Modern vehicle architectures need to harmonise software infrastructure across domains to leverage investments, scale deployments and share resources,” said Henri Ardevol, Executive Vice President and GM, Automotive Processing at NXP. “NXP aims to deliver a consistent architecture across domains and with differentiation in performance, power, and world-class safety and security. Car OEMs need a simpler coordination of advanced functions across control-units, the flexibility to locate and port applications seamlessly, and the certainty of execution in a critical safety and security context.”
NXP and TSMC expect the delivery of first samples of 5nm devices to NXP’s key customers in 2021
