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Samsung to begin mass production of Arm’s Cortex-A76 chips
Computer chip designer Arm Holdings Ltd. is teaming up with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s foundry to begin manufacturing its potentially revolutionary new Cortex-A76 computer processing unit, which clocks in at speeds above 3 gigahertz.
The companies said the Cortex-A76 will therefore be even more powerful than Qualcomm Technologies Inc.’s Cortex-A75, the Snapdragon 845, which is currently regarded as the best system-on-a-chip available today, maxing out at a speed of 2.8 GHz.
The Cortex-A76 is also significant because it’s the first chip designed by Arm that can match the performance of Intel’s Core i7 chips. What this means is that it could also potentially be used in lower-end laptops, experts said.
“The Cortex A76 design is exciting because it’s Arm’s first PClike design for smartphones, tablets and notebooks,” said Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “Designs based on it can be up to twice as fast as today’s ‘Always Connected’ PCs.”
For starters, the Cortex-A76 will be manufactured on Samsung’s seven-nanometer Low Power Plus fabrication process, combined with Arm’s Artisan physical IP platform that includes HD logic architecture, a comprehensive suite of memory compilers and 1.8-volt and 3.3-volt GPIO libraries. Manufacture is due to begin in the second half of 2018.
Samsung is one of three foundries that will manufacture the Cortex-A76 chips, Moorhead said. The others are likely to be GlobalFoundries in the U.S. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
At a later date, chips will be made on Samsung’s more advanced 5LPE process technology, which will allow for greater scaling and more power efficiency.
Samsung also said its new extreme ultraviolet lithography process technology, which is critical to its ambitions for next-generation microchips, has been delayed until 2019. The EUV process, which enables finer circuits and more components to be placed on the chips it builds, was originally expected to be used on Samsung’s 7LPP process by the end of this year.
Image: ARM
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