ARM is about to receive its first multicore 64-bit 10nm FF test chips. The company on Wednesday announced that the test chip based on TSMC’s 10FinFET process technology shows impressive power reduction of up to 30% at same frequency and efficiency gains of 11-12% in comparison to 16FinFET+ process technology.
The 10nm 64-bit ARM v8-A processor chip tape out had completed in Q4 of 2015, and now it’s been sent to TSMC for test production. ARM has also implemented quad-core “Artemis” cluster on the test chip. In addition, SoC designers will now be able to use the foundation IP building blocks (standard cell libraries, embedded memories and standard I/Os) to develop the most competitive SoCs for the highest possible performance with lowest power and area, claims ARM.
Notably, Intel is still working for 14nm and we do not expect 10nm production until next year. Whereas we saw some leaked details about the Mediatek Helio X30, which was initially said to use 16nm FinFET process technology, but a Chinese electronics industry analyst in April suggested that it may use 10nm FinFET process technology. This is less likely though, but then we will have to wait until June when the chip is expected to get announced.
Commenting on the partnership with TSMC, Pete Hutton, Executive Vice President and President Product Groups at ARM said:
TSMC’s 16FFLL+ process and ARM Cortex processors have already set new standards for efficiency. Our collaboration with TSMC on 10FinFET ensures SoC-wide efficiency that will allow our silicon partners even greater room to innovate while staying within strict power budgets.
TSMC VP R&D, Dr. Cliff Hou also commented saying:
Together, we are defining processor technologies that continue to propel the mobile market. Our latest endeavor, enabling ARM processors on TSMC 10FinFET technology, is transformative for the end user experience across premium mobile and a diverse range of consumer electronic goods.