Sun and Texas Instruments (TI) are celebrating the anniversary of their alliance, which first began 15 years ago, making it the one of the longest in the technology industry. In recognition of the achievement, both companies are highlighting the milestones and technologies that have made the pair world leaders in processor innovation.

Sun and TI began their collaboration in 1988, and it eventually led to the design and fabrication of six generations of SPARCR processors. Other achievements include the first 64-bit microprocessor produced with the 130 nanometer process. Appropriately, the recognition of the alliance coincides with Sun's new UltraSPARCR IV release.

"The longevity of the Sun/TI alliance and the work it has produced is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the people involved," said Dr. David Yen, executive vice president, Processor and Network Products group, Sun Microsystems. "This symbiotic relationship has allowed both companies to focus their energy on what they do best. For TI, it is developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art process technology and for Sun, it is designing and marketing cutting-edge processors."

Milestones that have been achieved during the Sun/TI partnership include:

• 1988 -- Sun/TI relationship founded
• 1992 -- Delivery of SuperSPARCR and MicroSPARCR 1
• 1994 -- Delivery of SuperSPARCR II
• 1995 -- Delivery of UltraSPARCR I (first 64-bit SPARC processor)
• 1997 -- Delivery of UltraSPARC II (72-way support)
• 2000 -- UltraSPARCR III (106-way support)
• 2001 -- Copper UltraSPARC III
• 2002 -- UltraSPARC III (industry's first 64-bit in 130 nm)
• 2003 -- First 64-bit 90 nm process samples

"This is truly a synergistic relationship for Sun and TI," adds Hunter Ward, Enterprise Products business manager and SPARC engineering manager at TI. "Sun drives our leading-edge process technology from a performance perspective, which enhances our high-performance ASIC business and waterfalls down into our other products over time. Concurrently, we share with Sun lessons learned in producing our very high-volume, low-cost, low-power DSP products." [...read more...]

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