Can someone explain how this works?
We've got the following chip companies: Intel, AMD, Samsung.
And we've got a bunch of "fab" companies: Intel, TSMC, Global Foundries, Samsung.
What's the difference between the two sets of companies? Why can't Intel just buy a "7nm" processor from TSMC?
And what exactly is "7nm"? The distance between the closest transistors in a chip? Just guessing.
[edit]
From browsing Wikipedia, I gather that:
- A chip company designs a processor. The design is in the form of a circuit diagram(?)
- A fab company turns that diagram into a physical product.
So for example, ARM designs a chip, which then gets built by Samsung. ARM is strictly responsible for design, and Samsung provides a factory.
We've got the following chip companies: Intel, AMD, Samsung.
And we've got a bunch of "fab" companies: Intel, TSMC, Global Foundries, Samsung.
What's the difference between the two sets of companies? Why can't Intel just buy a "7nm" processor from TSMC?
And what exactly is "7nm"? The distance between the closest transistors in a chip? Just guessing.
[edit]
From browsing Wikipedia, I gather that:
So for example, ARM designs a chip, which then gets built by Samsung. ARM is strictly responsible for design, and Samsung provides a factory.