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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Engel who wrote (93727)	12/9/1999 9:35:00 PM
From: Mani1	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

You guys gotta love this, that famous notch! techweb.com Intel Process Tweak Improves Pentium III (12/09/99, 6:37 p.m. ET) By Peter Clarke, EE Times WASHINGTON - Intel is manufacturing Pentium IIImicroprocessors with better than 800-MHz clock frequencies byusing a refinement of CMOS process technology described by researchers at this week's International Electron Devices Meeting(IEDM). The "notched-poly" process refinement described by Tahir Ghani, senior engineer with Intel's logic technology development group in Portland, Ore., has already been included in Intel's 0.18-micron CMOS process and in circuits manufactured with transistor gate lengths of 0.1 micron (100 nanometers). At a session after his presentation, Ghani said Intel had "made Pentium III devices but not shipped [them] yet." He later qualified that statement, saying, "Some devices have shipped, but we haven't announced that yet." Regardless, "The clock frequency is better than 800 MHz," Ghani said. The development strayed from the norm at IEDM, where technology described in presentations normally shows up in circuit implementations at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) the following year, or sometimes two or more years later. Intel's 0.18-micron process technology normally produces transistors with a 0.13-micron gate length, but in his presentation Ghani said a method had been devised that allowed a notch to be introduced at the bottom of each transistor's polysilicon gate, thereby narrowing the gate length to 100 nm. Another advantage of the notched-poly process is that it allows the continued use of 248-nm lithography, Ghani said. The shorter gate length, together with other refinements described in the paper, reduces the gate capacitance and allows circuits to be built with higher-speed performance at a reduced operating voltage (1.2 to 1.5 V) and with higher current drive and low leakage current. "The drive current is increased by about 10 percent," said Ghani. He would not offer specifics on Intel's method for making the gate-shortening notches, but he did say that it's "cost-free" (implying that it requires no extra process steps) and that the lateral and vertical dimensions of the notch are highly controllable -- an important factor in repeatability and reliability. Ghani added that Intel uses a 16-Mbit SRAM design as a test vehicle for its 0.18-micron process node, and that such an SRAM, operating at a 1.16-GHz clock frequency, has been built using the notched-poly process. More details on that circuit are due to be revealed in February. Other features of the notched-poly refinement are an optimization of the source and drain doping implantation and annealing, and a change from a titanium to a cobalt salicidation process; but Ghani stressed that no change was required to Intel's standard gate oxide or its 2-nm thickness. Noting that reliability of the gate oxide is a major concern with leading-edge processes, Ghani said tests indicated the new configuration would exhibit a lifetime in excess of 10 years at 1.5-V operation. "The variations are similar to what we see for straight poly," he said. "The oxide is extremely robust."

To: Paul Engel who wrote (93727)	12/10/1999 2:27:00 AM
From: Amy J	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

Hi Paul, RE: "I sold some January $65 puts and will be buying more stock if Intel drops into the mid $60s." I hope your Jan Puts turn out well. We know from the CC that demand is doing well. Mani's article, i.e. "The drive current is increased by about 10 percent" is significant and will help in 2000. Good. RE: "Just how bad can an investment be in the US's 3'rd most profitable company, pocketing $1.9 BILLION/quarter, selling at a P/E of around 30, with an investment portfolio currently worth at least $5 BILLION, with $8 or $9 BILLION in CASH in the bank, with FOUR 0.18 micron Wafer Fabs ( and a fifth on its way), with the major market share in Flash memory, 85% of the x86 CPU market, a fully functioning 64 bit advanced SERVER/WORKSTATION CPUs (ITanium) up and running and shipping to customers in sample/evaluation system quantities, a new IXP communications processor, a CDMA Cell Phone CPU supplier (DSP) under its belt, and an upcoming 600 MHz StrongARM processor ? Three years from now, Intel has a great chance to expand its already dominant microprocessor business, expand into the burgeoning Router/Switch/Communications business as the DOMINANT component supplier, and gain significant new market share in the enterprise server and Workstation CPU business where they now have near-zero market share. When everybody in the world shops and communicates and is entertained via the Internet, 85% of them will be doing this with an Intel CPU of one form or another as their main, direct communications engine." Excellent post. This was a really good post. RE: "Three years from now, I expect Intel to be a $50 Billion company with about $13 to $14 Billion in profits." I underestimated how long it could take IA-64 to roll out to a wide base. I had been thinking it would start having an impact in 2001. So, I was thinking they had a chance to achieve this doubling of profits in ~2 years, but 3 is good too. Doubling profits implies the stock price could more than double. Thanks, Amy J