On November 27, Toshiba and NEC announced that they have signed a cooperation agreement, whereby both parities will strengthen their partnership in the development of LSI (Large-Scale Integration) chips, extending from the current 45nm to 32nm process technology.

Prior to reaching the new agreement, the two companies have participated in the joint development of chips based on 45nm process technology at Toshiba's Advanced Microelectronic Center in Yokohama, Japan, since February 2007, Nikkei Electronics reported.

Under the new agreement, Toshiba and NEC will seek to upgrade the technology to 32nm process and jointly develop 32nm chips on the same premises where 45nm chips are developed.

Furthermore, Toshiba's 45nm LSI products are expected to begin sample shipment in the first half of 2008, while mass production is slated for the second half of 2008. Meanwhile, NEC also revealed its plan to begin sample shipment of the same products in December 2008 and kick off mass production in 2009. As for 32nm LSI products, Toshiba is expected to move into mass production in the first half of 2010, whereas NEC plans to begin mass production in December 2010.