Spansion and TSMC said they have signed a definitive agreement to begin joint development of variations of Spansion's MirrorBit technology, which uses 40-nanometer and more advanced process technologies for memory chips production.

Spansion, a provider of flash memory solutions, will use the jointly developed MirrorBit-related technology to expand its application into new areas of memory solutions, while wafer foundry TSMC will upgrade Spansion's advanced flash memory technologies to volume production, under the agreement, they said.

TSMC had been producing Spansion flash memory wafers using 110-nm technology since the second quarter of 2006.

'Collaborating with Spansion expands our technology portfolio and increases our participation in the fast-growing flash memory business,' TSMC president and chief executive officer Rick Tsai said in the statement.