computer science

GlobalFoundries

GlobalFoundries is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand GlobalFoundries rather than just read about it. In short: GlobalFoundries Inc. is a multinational semiconductor technology development, design and contract manufacturing company domiciled in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Malta, New York. Created by the divestiture of the manufacturing arm of AMD in March 2009, the company was privately owned by Mubadala Investment Company, a sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, until an initial public offering (IPO)…

Key takeaways

GlobalFoundries belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect GlobalFoundries to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of GlobalFoundries from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

GlobalFoundries Inc. is a multinational semiconductor technology development, design and contract manufacturing company domiciled in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Malta, New York. Created by the divestiture of the manufacturing arm of AMD in March 2009, the company was privately owned by Mubadala Investment Company, a sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, until an initial public offering (IPO) in October 2021. Mubadala remains the majority owner of the company with an 82% stake. The company manufactures integrated circuits on wafers designed for markets such as smart mobile devices, data centers and communications infrastructure, automotive, aerospace and defense, and for consumer internet of things (IoT). As of 2023, GlobalFoundries is the third-largest semiconductor foundry by revenue. It is the only one with operations in Singapore, the European Union, and the United States: one 200 mm and one 300 mm wafer fabrication plant in Singapore; one 300 mm plant in Dresden, Germany; one 200 mm plant in Essex Junction, Vermont (where it is the largest private employer) and one 300 mm plant in Malta, New York. GlobalFoundries is a "Trusted Foundry" for the U.S. federal government and has similar designations in Singapore and Germany, including certified international Common Criteria standard (ISO 15408, CC Version 3.1). On October 28, 2021, the company sold shares in an IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange at US$47 each, at the higher end of its targeted price range, and raised about US$2.6 billion.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with GlobalFoundries

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what GlobalFoundries claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to GlobalFoundries before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about GlobalFoundries ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of GlobalFoundries

In research: GlobalFoundries appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses GlobalFoundries in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: GlobalFoundries is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2009 establishments in California, 2021 initial public offerings, American companies established in 2009, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for GlobalFoundries outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study GlobalFoundries in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what GlobalFoundries means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain GlobalFoundries out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is GlobalFoundries in simple terms?

Why does GlobalFoundries matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study GlobalFoundries?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on GlobalFoundries.