SYSTEMS

SAN JOSE, Calif., Microprocessor Forum -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Texas Instruments, Inc. today announced their 15-year anniversary by highlighting the milestones and future technologies that have made Sun and TI world leaders in processor innovation. Sun and TI's 15-year alliance, one of the longest in the technology industry, coincides with the announcement of UltraSPARC(r) IV by Sun and a strained silicon process by TI -- two of the many achievements made possible by the partnership. "The longevity of the Sun/TI alliance and the work it has produced is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the people involved," said Dr. David Yen, executive vice president, Processor and Network Products group, Sun Microsystems. "This symbiotic relationship has allowed both companies to focus their energy on what they do best. For TI, it is developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art process technology and for Sun, it is designing and marketing cutting-edge processors." Both companies reap significant business benefits from the strategic agreement. TI is able to apply its learnings in 64-bit manufacturing to the development of high-speed I/O ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs) and DSP-based product lines. All the while, Sun is allowed the opportunity to remain focused on its core competency of designing leading-edge systems without having to build and maintain silicon wafer fabrication facilities. "This is truly a synergistic relationship for Sun and TI," adds Hunter Ward, Enterprise Products business manager and SPARC engineering manager at TI. "Sun drives our leading-edge process technology from a performance perspective, which enhances our high-performance ASIC business and waterfalls down into our other products over time. Concurrently, we share with Sun lessons learned in producing our very high-volume, low-cost, low-power DSP products." The Sun/TI relationship, forged in 1988, has led to the design and fabrication of six generations of SPARC(r) processors and several industry firsts, including the first 64-bit microprocessor produced with the 130 nanometer (nm) process. Additionally, Sun and TI are jointly enabling the future of Throughput Computing, Sun's breakthrough strategy for its UltraSPARC roadmap. Sun/TI partnership milestones: -- 1988 - Sun/TI relationship founded -- 1992 - Delivery of SuperSPARC(r) and MicroSPARC(r) 1 -- 1994 - Delivery of SuperSPARC II -- 1995 - Delivery of UltraSPARC I (first 64 bit SPARC processor) -- 1997 - Delivery of UltraSPARC II (72-way support) -- 2000 - UltraSPARC III (106-way support) -- 2001 - Copper UltraSPARC III -- 2002 - UltraSPARC III (industry's first 64-bit in 130 nm) -- 2003 - First 64-bit 90 nm process samples