Companies to produce silicon-on-insulator technology TAIPEI – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chip maker, has teamed up with Freescale Semiconductor Inc. to jointly develop SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology for chips made using a 65-nanometer (nm) process, the companies said in a statement Tuesday.In addition, the agreement grants TSMC the rights to use Freescale’s SOI technology for 90-nm chips, the statement said.SOI technology adds a buried layer of insulation between a transistor and the silicon substrate of a chip. This layer of insulation, which lowers the capacitance between the silicon substrate and an active transistor, allows chips to be produced that are faster and consume less power. The joint development agreement announced Tuesday expands on existing cooperation between Freescale and TSMC to develop advanced chip-making process technology. That work also involves two other chip makers: STMicroelectronics NV and Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV.The joint SOI development work will be conducted at Freescale’s Dan Noble Center in Austin, Texas, the statement said. Technology Industry