TSMC offers range of process technologies to support IoT designs

The ultra low power process lineup includes the existing 0.18µm extremely low leakage (0.18eLL), 90nm ultra low leakage (90uLL) and 16nm FinFET technology, as well as new technologies such as 55nm ultra-low power (55ULP), 40ULP and 28ULP. Supporting processing speeds of up to 1.2GHz, this range of processes is said by TSMC to be 'ideally suited' for a variety of smart and power-efficient applications in the IoT and wearable device markets. The platform also offers RF and embedded flash at design rules ranging from 0.18µm to 40nm, allowing system level integration and wireless connection amongst IoT products. Compared with previous low power generations, the latest processes can reduce operating voltages by another 20 to 30%, whilst increasing battery life by up to 10 times. "This is the first time that we have offered a comprehensive platform to meet the demands and innovation for the versatile IoT market, where ultra-low power and ubiquitous connectivity are most critical," said TSMC's president and Co CEO, Dr Mark Liu, pictured. "Bringing such a spectrum of offerings to this emerging market demonstrates TSMC's technology leadership and commitment to bring great value to our customers and enable design wins with competitive products." "Silicon Labs welcomes TSMC's ultra low power initiative because it will enable a range of energy friendly processing, sensing and connectivity technologies that we are actively developing for the IoT," said Tyson Tuttle, Silicon Labs' CEO. "We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with TSMC to bring our solutions to market."