TI chip-making process to double output per wafer

NEW YORK - Texas Instruments Inc. said  a new manufacturing process will

double the number of chips it produces per silicon wafer, boosting processing

speed, cutting power consumption, and helping the company compete with rival

Intel Corp.

TI, the No. 1 supplier of cellphone chips, said the 45-nanometer chip-making

process could lift device speeds by around 30 per cent and cut power use by 40

per cent, making it easier to run cellphone features such as games or e-mailing.

The company plans next year to start using a more costly manufacturing

process than Intel, according to analysts, but they noted that the chip

improvements TI will achieve are roughly in line with major players in the

industry.

"TI is right up there with the leaders but they're not going to be

leaving everybody else behind," said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst

for research firm Insight 64.

The upcoming chips would allow wireless users to run more simultaneous

applications, such as playing games with 3-D graphics while running video

conferences or receiving e-mail in the background, the company said.

The convergence of communication and entertainment on mobile devices has led

to demand for lower power-consumption technologies. Miniaturization boosts chip

processing speed by cutting down on the distance the electric load must travel.

TI said it developed what it believes to be the smallest 45-nanometer SRAM

memory cell, occupying only 0.24 square microns, up to 30 percent smaller than

other 45-nanometer memory cell devices announced to date.

It said that would be about 30 per cent smaller than Intel's. An Intel

official said that while it was not immediately clear how much progress TI had

made, Intel was making similar improvements, and sooner.

"We'll also double the number of chips and cut the power consumption.

Our process development is further along. We'll be in production sooner,"

said Michael Mayberry, director of component research at Intel.

TI said the new 45-nanometer chips will be made in Texas, with initial

samples due in 2007 and production starting in mid-2008. Intel said its first

45-nanometer chips would go into production by the end of 2007.