It was announced yesterday that Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics are joining forces to develop and manufacture chips using an advanced processing technology. Germany’s Infineon Technologies AG and US Freescale Semiconductor are also part of the alliance partnership after signing development agreements that include 32-nanometre process technologies.

“The jointly developed technologies, together with Infineon’s application and product design know-how, will enable Infineon to provide to our customers cost-effective system-on-silicon solutions and manufacturing capabilities for our core business in communications and automotive/industrial areas,” explained Dr. Franz Neppel, Senior VP of Technologies and Services at Infineon.

The companies will work to the deadline of 2010 to design, develop and produce the advanced-generation chips that can be used in both mobile devices and supercomputers. The joint development of technologies and the synchronization of manufacturing processes are on the increase in the industry, enabling chip makers to cut costs and serve high-volume clients.

Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon, President, System LSI Division, Semiconductor Business, Samsung Electronics, reported that “major new challenges are expected at the 32nm node, both in materials as well as device structures. We expect to deliver breakthrough technology by working together with our partners, who bring a variety of expertise as leaders in the industry.”