Delivery of these first chips from TSMC comes two months ahead of schedule Qualcomm has received the first samples of its MSM6800 3G (third-generation) mobile chip sets manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) using a 65-nanometer production process, according to the chip maker.The delivery of these first chips comes two months ahead of schedule, TSMC said.Moving the production of the MSM6800 to a 65nm process offers several benefits for consumers. Using a more advanced process technology can shrink the chip’s die size, or the area of silicon that is required, which means lower per-unit production costs. It also means the chip will consume less power, which helps stretch handset battery life. When describing process technologies, the number refers to the size of the smallest feature that can be created on a silicon chip. The smaller the number, the better. At present, many chip makers are in the process of shifting their most advanced production lines from a 90nm process to a 65nm process.The Qualcomm MSM6800 chip set is designed for handsets that support the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) 2000 1x EV-DO (Evolution Data-Only) 3G standard. The chips, which also support GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) networks, offers data rates up to 3.1Mbps.The MSM6800 is expected to go into volume production using the 65nm process later this year, TSMC said. Technology Industry