ARM and TSMC have taped out the first 20nm ARM Cortex-A15 MPCore processor. ARM wants to optimise its physical IP technology to TSMC 20nm process technologies because it provides double the performance over preceding generations.

Mike Inglis, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Processor Division, ARM said that this is the first 20nm ARM Cortex-A15 tape out paves the way for the next generation of integration and performance. He said that the combination of TSMC technology, the latest ARM Cortex-A15 processor and Artisan physical IP will help meet the increasing demand for high performance, energy-efficient consumer devices. The Cortex-A15 processor’s low-power, high-performance and advanced feature set is perfectly suited to 20nm process implementations, he said.

The announcement highlights the continued and increased collaboration between ARM and TSMC. The test chip was implemented using a commercially available 20nm tool chain and design services provided by the OIP ecosystem and ARM Connected Community partners.