Rockchip, SMIC in commercial production of 65-nm multimedia chips

SHANGHAI, USA: Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Co. Ltd, a leading Fabless Semiconductor company and mobile-internet SOC solution provider, announced that its design of a high-end digital-analog mixed SOC chip has successfully entered into commercial production at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, (SMIC) using SMIC's 65-nm Low-Power process.

The Rockchip RK Cayman series solution platform, based on ARM9 and DSP dual-core processors, adopts a number of SMIC's self-developed 65-nm IPs and is a highly-integrated, programmable, and high-performance digital-analog mixed SOC chip.

The chip supports 24bit/1K ECC (error checking and correcting), NAND, eMMC, and SPI (Single Program Initiation). With the built-in EPD (Electrophoretic Displays) driver, the chip can support a variety of EPD displays and various formats of 720P video playback.

The chip also adopts Synopsys' USB PHY, PHY I/O and USB 2.0 IP and features an OTG (On-The-Go) function that makes data exchange with other mobile devices quick and easy. The RK Cayman series is targeted for use in MP3, MP4, e-book reader, and other digital consumer product markets.

"Rockchip, with its strong R&D focus, continues to dedicate its in-house development to innovated products and solutions. The RK Cayman chip has a strong computing and video playback capability. The chip also supports CMMB, ISDB, mobile TV and other multimedia features. The camera interfaces also enable video and photo capabilities," said Feng Cheng, VP of Rockchip.

"SMIC's 65-nm platform provides customers solutions with more reliability, stability, and lower costs, and thus significantly enhances our market competitiveness. The success of the RK Cayman chip marks a meaningful milestone for both parties."

Chris Chi, senior VP and chief business officer of SMIC, said: "The successful collaboration with Rockchip, the leading semiconductor and SOC chip provider in China, further consolidates SMIC's leadership position in the relevant 65-nm multimedia market. SMIC will continue with the R&D of our 65-nm platform to better serve China's rapidly growing consumer electronics market."