ATI is already manufacturing its 28nm chips with Globalfoundriess

For the HD 6000 series, AMD is still sticking to TSMC’s 40nm production lines, but subsequent development is likely to be made in Globalfoundries ’factories.

AMD will manufacture its graphics processors at the future Globalfoundries, now with a bandwidth of 28 nanometers. The reason for the switch may be that production at 40 nm has stalled at TSMC in the past, and AMD wants to avoid this in the future when debuting its 28 nm chips. Production of the 28-nanometer bandwidth chips may begin sometime in early 2011 at Globalfoundries ’plants, but that doesn’t mean, of course, that ATI will be ready to develop its new graphics cores by that date.

Globalfoundries will offer two manufacturing processes at 28 nanometers:

• 28 nm-HP (High Performance): This process can be used to make high-performance chips, such as chips for graphics processors, game consoles, or storage and network devices.
• 28nm-SLP (Super Low Power): This technology will be used for devices where long battery life is a primary consideration, such as wireless mobile applications.