The chip maker said that it has started mass production of its Exynos 8 octa core application processor using the 2nd generation of 14nm 3D FinFET geometry technology.
Dubbed as 14nm FinFET LPP (Low Power Plus), the 2nd generation 14nm geometry technology is an advanced version of its first generation 14nm FinFET process technology that was rolled out in the first quarter of 2015 to fabricate its Exynos 7 octa core processor solution. The 2nd generation 14nm FinFET LPP performs faster, but consumes less power, compared with the first generation.
Samsung's main foundry customer Qualcomm will outsource the fabrication of Snapdragon 802 chip to Samsung, too, to rollout them using e the 2nd generation 14nm FinFET LPP process.
Samsung's other foundry customers will join the 2nd generation FinFET fabrication ecosystem to outsource their SoC solutions. Apple Inc. is among them, but Samsung didn't reveal if Apple will use the 14nm FinFET LPP platform to outsource production of the A series SoC of Apple chip design.
Foundry is a sort of contract chip making business that designs none of its chips, but just only produces chips of other chip makers' design on a contract basis.