Intel performs well in Q4, ramps up .18 micron
techstocks.com
Intel was buying more .18 micron equipment this year to ramp production.
On 300mm (12-inch wafers), Intel said it did not want to transition both geometry and design change at once. Over the next years there will be investment with payback intended over the next several years.
By the end of this year, transition to .18 micron will be complete and Otellini said .13 micron will be brought onstream gradually over the next two to three years.
Analysts warn of DRAM drought
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"Most of the spending in the last few months has been on limited upgrades, but we can expect to see a big uptake in capital spending over the next six months," said Richard Gordon, senior analyst at Dataquest.
"There is a looming capacity crisis, especially in DRAM. Come Q2 or Q3, there will be actual shortages - not like now where the industry is still teetering on the brink of under supply," he said. ®
Intel plans 47% increase in capital spending to $5 billion this year
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Intel's $5.0 billion budget for capital expansion is nearly twice the size of any other semiconductor company, according to estimates by Dataquest. The San Jose market research firm believes Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) will be in a virtual tie for second place with capital budgets of about $2.5 billion in 2000.
The huge increase in capital spending by Intel will be used to deploy additional 0.18-micron process capacity as well as begin the move to next-generation 0.13-micron technologies and larger 300-mm wafers.
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