IBM and Mentor Graphics to Develop 22nm Computational Lithography Solution for the Integrated Circuit Industry

Today, the news that Mentor and IBM jointly develop the technology for 22-nm process node caught my eyes. I remember not long ago, Aart de Geus, CEO of Synopsys, created a new term econology in an interview with EE-times. He told us that the innovative technology may take 3 years to develop and another 3 years to get matured. The money invested might be millions. He don't think the investors feel happy about this (neither do I). He further explained that no single company in the world has enough resource to develop new technology alone. The jointly development is the future way of business model. By combining the specific knowledge and resources of several organizations, it would be much easier for them to explore new world.

I totally agree what he said. As a developer at EDA industry, I know that I don't really understand what troubles the different process technology would bring us. The best way to figure it out is to sit down and work with experts from foundry.