Sony said it was withdrawing from joint research with IBM and Toshiba to develop the manufacturing technology for producing microchips with circuitry of 32 nanometers or less. Sony has been moving away from the production of advanced semiconductors, which involves heavy investment.

The Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment company said last month it would sell to Toshiba its production facilities for making the "Cell" microprocessors and "RSX" graphic chips, both of which are used in its PlayStation 3 game gear.

While it is withdrawing from the joint R&D on technology, Sony said it would continue to work with Toshiba and IBM on design work for cutting-edge chips with 32-nanometre or narrower circuitry.