There is a good reason why we typically see devices like handsets, notebooks and other gadgets come from larger companies with the money to build all-new designs. The reason is that a custom design is very expensive and many smaller firms simply can’t afford it.

IBM has introduced a new 45 nm SOI (silicon-on-insulator) foundry that can build low-power composite design chips using ready-made IP libraries. The process is sort of like a “build your own pizza” restaurant where customers can pick and choose from already prepared ingredients to make a custom design.

IBM offers a vast IP library with technologies from ARM and other suppliers that smaller firms can choose from to design their own devices that IBM can then build for them. IBM program manager for semiconductor solutions Duncan Needler told BetaNews, "The gap is closing in terms of complexity and that's a reason why we believe the time has come for SOI."

IBM has been offering SOI as an option for its clients for a while. The new twist is the offering of the IP library, which Needler told BetaNews, will allow IBM to address a sweet spot in the market for manufacturers of small devices looking for low power drain.

The new offering will fit in with IBM's other foundry customer classes. The classes include ASIC customers who present IBM with a complete electrical schematic and IBM builds the design. The next is the full custom design where the IP is owned by the customer and IBM builds the product. The new SOI offering sits at the bottom of the line for those looking to build a device with shortcuts that make it faster and cheaper to do.

Needler said, "In the foundry offering, we provide intellectual property, we provide a library. A library basically is a suite of elements -- building blocks, if you will -- that have been designed specifically for the technology. We offer that level of enablement, we have worked with the EDA [electronic design automation] providers such that their tools work with both the libraries and our technology, and the client then has a suite of building blocks and tools with which he can develop a chip -- the difference being that the client does the physical design, [and] is responsible for the yield management, the packaging, the testing, but we simply build the product. So we don't have a higher-level business contribution. That's what we're enabling today."

Needler feels that customers looking for better performance, lower power consumption, and increased density will find the new SOI offering appealing. Needler says that customers looking for those three things will see more of a performance increase moving from 45 nm bulk silicon building process to the 45 nm SOI process than they would see in moving from 45nm bulk to 32nm bulk process. This will also allow manufacturers to move from 45nm bulk to 45nm SOI now rather than waiting for 32 nm processes to arrive, getting the products to market faster.

IBM is also looking towards 22 nm fabrication processes for some of its products in the coming months.