Japanese semiconductor company Rapidus and multinational technology firm IBM are expanding their partnership on developing lower-cost, high-performing 2-nanometer semiconductors to include packaging technology for the chiplets. The companies said their expanded collaboration calls for IBM to provide packaging technology to Rapidus for joint efforts on further innovation.
The initial partnership agreement, announced in December 2022, calls for the joint development of IBM’s 2 nm node technology at the Rapidus facilities in Japan. The effort will bank on IBM’s semiconductor research and design, which the company said can potentially deliver chiplets with 45 percent better performance and 75 percent improvement in energy efficiency than 7 nm chips.
Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization is supporting the IBM-Rapidus partnership under its project called the “Development of Chiplet and Package Design and Manufacturing Technology for 2 nm-Generation Semiconductors.”
Under the expanded agreement, IBM and Rapidus engineers will collaborate at IBM’s North American facilities in research and development for the manufacture of semiconductor packaging for advanced computer systems.
Dario Gil, senior vice president and research director at IBM, relayed the company’s optimism on the expanded collaboration. “Through our agreement, we are committed to supporting the development of the most advanced node production processes, design and packaging, as well as developing new use cases and supporting the semiconductor workforce,” he said.
