GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Freescale Partner to Develop 90nm Flash Memory Technology

Advanced Technology Targeted for Use in Freescale’s Next-Generation Industrial and Multi-Market Microcontroller Platforms

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At today’s inaugural Global Technology Conference, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Freescale Semiconductor announced plans to bring a new class of thin film storage (TFS) flash memory products to market on 90nm technology. The advanced technology is expected to be deployed in Freescale microcontrollers (MCUs) targeted for applications ranging from consumer electronics and household appliances to medical devices and smart metering systems.

“Our partnership with GLOBALFOUNDRIES will allow us to accelerate industrialization of our TFS technology, helping us remain at the forefront of embedded innovation.”

Freescale’s TFS technology with FlexMemory capability—configurable electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)—is used in both the ColdFire+™ and Kinetis™ families of 32-bit MCUs. This next generation non-volatile memory (NVM) technology based on the thin film storage concept will be manufactured on GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 90nm technology. Early test chips are already in production at GLOBALFOUNDRIES Fab 7 in Singapore, with technology certification expected to complete in the first half of 2011.

90nm TFS technology differs from other conventional non-volatile memory architectures in that it uses an innovative silicon nano-crystal technology to provide a scalable and industry-leading technology with excellent bit-level reliability, speed, power and area.

“Our alliance with Freescale is a great example of the collaborative approach we are bringing to the foundry industry,” said Gregg Bartlett, senior vice president of technology and research and development at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “We are tapping our industry-leading time-to-volume capabilities and working closely with Freescale at the early stages of product development to bring this innovative flash memory technology to market.”

“Freescale is focused on developing differentiating, embedded NVM process technologies which enable market-leading MCU solutions for our customers,” said Reza Kazerounian, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Microcontroller Solutions Group. “Our partnership with GLOBALFOUNDRIES will allow us to accelerate industrialization of our TFS technology, helping us remain at the forefront of embedded innovation.”

ABOUT GTC 2010

GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ inaugural Global Technology Conference features keynotes from industry leaders and presentations from senior members of the GLOBALFOUNDRIES management and technical teams, with a special emphasis on how the company achieves time-to-volume leadership by leveraging global collaboration with customers and partners. GTC 2010 begins Wednesday, September 1 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, kicking off a series of GTC 2010 “Road Show” events to be held at strategic international venues including China, Taiwan, Japan and Europe. For more information on GTC 2010, visit: http://www.globalfoundries.com/gtc2010/.

ABOUT GLOBALFOUNDRIES

GLOBALFOUNDRIES is the world’s first full-service semiconductor foundry with a truly global manufacturing and technology footprint. Launched in March 2009 through a partnership between AMD [NYSE: AMD] and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), GLOBALFOUNDRIES provides a unique combination of advanced technology, manufacturing excellence and global operations. With the integration of Chartered in January 2010, GLOBALFOUNDRIES significantly expanded its capacity and ability to provide best-in-class foundry services from mainstream to the leading edge. GLOBALFOUNDRIES is headquartered in Silicon Valley with manufacturing operations in Singapore, Germany, and a new leading-edge fab under construction in Saratoga County, New York. These sites are supported by a global network of R&D, design enablement, and customer support in Singapore, China, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. For more information on GLOBALFOUNDRIES, visit http://www.globalfoundries.com.

ABOUT FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR

Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. The privately held company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations around the world. www.freescale.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and include, without limitation, statements regarding the company's current expectations, assumptions, assessments, anticipations, objectives, plans, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially. Some factors which contribute to these risks and uncertainties include the economic conditions both in the United States and around the world; the difficulties in developing new customers; the demand and supply outlook in the overall semiconductor / foundry industry; the sourcing strategy of potential customer base; competitor actions; the success of company technology alliances; construction progress on additional manufacturing facilities as well as associated governmental processes; the availability of components and equipment; labor and employment issues at manufacturing facilities; the progression of advances in technology and processes; and unforeseen events. The company has no duty to update any forward-looking statements in this release based on new information or events.