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After asking some long time Intel folks I know I can offer three reasons that Intel R&D died under Sohail.
First, he did not demand robust processes. He was quite happy to accept a process that was held together with human glue provided by constant attention of process engineers. All that...
If they are able to successfully launch 18A and Panther Lake this year and they live up to expectations, I would say yes. You don't close that kind of technology gap in 5 years without a culture that values skill and dedication.
Though it will be interesting to see the longer term impact of...
Not disagreeing with your point, but OEE is one of those metrics that looks great on paper, but when you are looking at a wafer fab with multiple passes through re-entrant tools it can be a real challenge to evaluate that quality metric unless you are willing to pay to have a lot of inline...
Intel moved Intel3/4 to Ireland. During that time the OR fab has been running 18A wafers. The new leading edge will be going into production in 6 months in OR and will be ramping in AZ by the end of the year. Intel is currently shipping 18A samples to their customers. It isn't like leading...
I vehemently disagree. A JV that gives controlling interest to a non-US company spells the end of any US hope for logic technology leadership and makes the US beholden to others for anything on the cutting edge. I fail to see how that is "good for the US". Like it or not, Intel Foundry is...
That said, I feel like there is a huge effort underway to flush all the hard work and sacrifice that Intel employees have put in over the last several years. In under a year we will have 18A in the market and be able to see if Intel can make a go of it or not. I feel like Intel employees have...
I can't speak to TSMC, but I have heard from sources I consider reliable that 1) Intel has had initial ramps in the past at some truly marginal yields and 2) Intel yield improvement post ramp has diminished over the last few technologies. Though #2 may well be due to the challenges of quad...
How can I have anything but the upmost confidence in any plan proposed by Mr. Yeary. Any one who can find top notch CEO's like Kraznich and Swan can do no wrong. <sarcasm intended>
That makes it sound so simple. :)
In my experience restarting a tool after an extended shut down is more painful than getting a new tool up and running. Quicker perhaps, but certainly more painful.
That is a fair distinction. But I think my main point remains, Intel's historical approach to process design needs to change to meet the needs of an expanded clientele.
I'm talking less about building capacity here and more about how you start wafers in the fab, and in that instance I think...
From a technology standpoint I agree. Despite all their issues Intel still has plenty of very smart people and the know how to develop a process.
However, the things I think TSMC could teach them are how to design a cost effective process and how to run their fabs efficiently. Intel has...
Given all the issues TSMC had with the AZ fab start up and their public statements of how hard it is to get things done in the U.S. Why would they want to saddle themselves with additional U.S. fabs? They have sent a significant number of workers to AZ for the start up of 1 fab. Where do they...
Maybe I'm just being thick here, but do customer's really care which tool you use? It is about getting good yields on an acceptable time frame with a price customers consider affordable, right? I don't believe that customers were telling TSMC "if you don't use EUV tools we won't buy your...
Absolutely true, and that is why I specified correlation. However, lacking other alternative explanations I'm left to believe that this is the cause. If there is another, more plausible explanation I'd love to hear it.
My son is in his last semester of an aviation degree to become a commercial pilot, so I know how much the federal grant money has helped him. That said we need to find some way to kill of these federal grant and loan programs. The obscene rise in the cost of higher education correlates very...
FWIW Pat Gelsinger will be 64 next month. I'm not sure why people think Hoc Tan at 72 is a good choice, but Caulfield at 66 isn't? The articles I've seen are all quick to point out his lack of design experience, but I'm not sure there is a candidate that has expertise in both design and...
A shuffle in Globalfoundries’ management team has prompted speculation that the firm’s CEO, Thomas Caulfield, is going to take the helm at Intel or Intel’s foundry division, which may or may not be spun out. Caulfield stepped down as CEO on Wednesday to become the foundry’s executive chairman...
This reminds me of the early days of environmental regulation. Initially regulations were based on the concentration of emissions. The result? Any good Chem E could tell you the solution to pollution is dilution. Eventually the legislators wised up and started basing regulations on mass, a...
