The web of alliances among semiconductor manufacturers is getting tangled, and as we continue to move down the process node, add one more to the equation. IBM and Hitachi are expected to announce a partnership today to collaborate on getting down to the 32 nanometer and 22 nanometer nodes. Intel expects 22nm chips to come to market in 2011 and 32 nanometer in 2009. IBM is already part of such a partnership for 45 nm develepment with five other companies including AMD, Chartered Semiconductor, Samsung, Freescale and Infineon. IBM is also working with Hitachi and Sony on the cell processor for PS3s and other devices. And Intel? It’s still going it alone.