CCW
02-15-2004, 06:35 PM
Sony Corp and Toshiba Corp said o_n Thursday they plan to each invest 10 billion yen ($95 million) to jointly develop a microchip that will be smaller and more powerful than any now available.The planned next-generation semiconductor will have 45-nanometre circuitry -- even narrower than the circuitry planned for "cell", a 65-nanometre microprocessor being developed by the two companies and IBM Corp."Cell" is expected to power Sony's next-generation game console."We started working with Sony o_n developing a 65-nanometre system LSI in May 2001 and that project will finish up in March. We consider this an extension of that joint project," said Toshiba spokesman Junichi Nagaki.Sony plans to invest 500 billion yen over the next three years in semiconductors, including 200 billion yen for "cell", which will initially use 300 millimetre wafers and 65-nanometre circuitry.