TSMC, werelds grootste chip bakker, heeft vandaag een press release de wijde wereld ingestuurd waarin ze mededelen dat zij als eerste zijn begonnen met het bakken van chippies voor de normale consument gebaseerd op een 0.13 micron proces. TSMC is onder andere producent van Crusoe CPU's en chips voor mobiele telefoons, producten dus die erg kunnen profiteren van een lager energieverbruik, of een hogere snelheid. De productie 0.13 micron IC's is een stuk vroeger begonnen als verwacht 
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HSIN-CHU, Taiwan, September 15, 2000 - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM), the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, today announced that it will tape out at least seven customer products to its industry-leading 0.13-micron process in September, more than a year ahead of the SIA roadmap. First tape outs have already occurred. The volume of tape outs is expected to be well ahead of the industry at this geometry. Products taping out at this line width span the range of applications, including multiple CPUs, SRAMs and devices for communications systems and cell phones. The tape outs are expected to result in first silicon in the fourth quarter of this year.
Not only is TSMC’s industry-leading 0.13 micron process the first to tape out customer products, it’s also the first to tape out products using multiple process variations. TSMC’s 0.13-micron core (CL013G), low power(CL013LP) and high performance(CL013LV) technologies are each designed to enable optimum performance for specific application areas. All three versions are being used in tape outs this month.
“With this announcement, TSMC expects to definitively make its mark as the technology leader in the foundry industry, and one of the pioneering group in the IC industry as a whole,” said Dr. FC Tseng, president of TSMC. “This is a testament both to the hard work of our many leading researchers and engineers, and to the excellent feedback and collaborative efforts of many key customers.”
