IBM

IBM offers a full range of semiconductor technologies, products and services throughout the value chain from product development and manufacturing, to supply chain and marketing, sales, and service.

IBM microelectronics delivers application-optimized semiconductor technologies designed to take performance, integration and power efficiency to the next level. IBM Semiconductor products include RF SOI, RF CMOS and SiGe technologies that are uniquely optimized to help keep mobile devices connected, whether the connection is Wi-Fi or cellular. With features and enhancements that include derivative devices, high-resistivity substrates, high quality passives, thick metals and through-silicon vias, these technologies offer a range of advantages, including the ability to integrate functions, help keep pace with new standards and handle switching between 4G LTE, 3G and more across the globe. Equally important, because IBM specialty foundry offerings are built on a proven CMOS base, they can provide an affordable alternative to inherently more-expensive technologies like gallium arsenide, while still delivering the required performance.

IBM built the first computer capable of defeating a human in chess, the first carbon nanotube transistors, copper interconnects, and pioneered the use of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. The company has also done a great deal of research on cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing and technology prototyping, including the use of graphene and the ramping up of III-V materials. IBM was influential in the invention of the PC and many other innovations, including, the fortran programming language, magnetic storage, the relational database, DRAM (dynamic random access memory) cells, the RISC (reduced instruction set computer) chip architecture, magnetic stripe technology, the UPC barcode, the scanning tunneling microscope, the SABRE travel reservation system, and much more.

October 20, 2014, IBM transferred the bulk of their semiconductor business over to GlobalFoundries. With its decision to sell its semiconductor business, IBM is shifting from manufacturing to a company that focuses on research, software and advanced systems development.