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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: milo_morai who wrote (114555)	6/6/2000 10:17:00 AM
From: Scot	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572711

Milo and thread: a short interview with AMD on Dresden: hardwarecentral.com AMD Interview AMD's Fab 30 Manufacturing Facility Sander Sassen Q1: What is Fab 30? A1: Fab 30 is AMD?s state-of-the-art European manufacturing facility dedicated to producing the high-performance AMD Athlon processor. Fab 30 is managed by AMD Saxony Manufacturing GmbH, an AMD subsidiary. Q2: What does the '30' in Fab 30 stand for? A2: It stands for the number of years after AMD was founded in which the Fab started production. AMD was founded in 1969; Fab 30 began production in 1999, 30 years after the birth of the company, thus Fab 30. Q3: Are there any other AMD operations in Dresden besides Fab 30? A3: Yes, in addition to Fab 30, AMD Saxony Manufacturing GmbH also includes the Dresden Design Center (DDC). The DDC has systems and silicon design capability to bring products from concept to market. The initial projects involving DDC have been in the areas of wired and wireless communications systems. Currently, the DDC is developing a new southbridge device which incorporates communications features that complements AMD?s next generation microprocessors. Q4: Where is Fab 30 located? A4: Fab 30 is located on a 75-acre campus on the northern edge of Dresden, the state capital of Saxony, Germany. Q5: What is the primary purpose of Fab 30? A5: AMD is producing AMD Athlon processors at Fab 30 using HiP6L technology, a 0.18 micron copper interconnect technology that AMD has obtained by license in our agreement with Motorola. Q6: What is the nature of AMD?s relationship with Motorola and Fab 30? A6: The copper interconnect technology process used in Fab 30 was acquired through AMD?s strategic alliance with Motorola?s Semiconductor Products Sector. Under this agreement, Motorola has licensed its current copper interconnect technology and High Performance Logic Process (HiPerMOS) to AMD. The companies will collaborate on the development of future logic process technology platforms featuring copper interconnects. Q7: What other microprocessor fabs in Europe use copper interconnect technology? A7: To our knowledge, Fab 30 is the first European wafer fabrication facility to use copper interconnect technology in its production of microprocessors. Q8: What are the benefits of using copper interconnect technology? A8: Simply put, over time, using copper interconnects allows us to migrate to higher-performance processors. Q9: What are the sources of financing for Fab 30? A9: AMD Saxony has three sources of funding for Fab 30: Advanced Micro Devices Inc., loans by an international bank consortium, and German government grants and subsidies. Q10: How large is the total investment in Fab 30? A10: At project completion, the investment in Fab 30 is expected to total $1.9 billion. Q11: How long has AMD been involved with Fab 30? A11: AMD announced the Fab 30 project in December 1995, and ground-breaking occurred 10 months later. Below is a timeline of milestone events related to Fab 30: 1995 - AMD announces its Dresden project 1996 - Ground breaking for facility 1997 - Cornerstone ceremony Topping off ceremony 1998 - Clean room ready for equipment Start of First Wafers 1999 - First yielding AMD-K6 family processors Begin installation of copper tools Start of copper lots Yielding copper products Fab 30 Dedication 2000 - ISO certification and Fab qualification First commercial shipments Q12: How many people will be employed at Fab 30 at full build-out? A12: AMD Saxony Manufacturing GmbH plans to hire approximately 1,800 employees by the end of 2001. As of May 1, AMD Saxony had 1,106 employees. This number is expected to grow to about 1,400 by the end of 2000. Q13: What are the key demographics of the AMD Saxony employees? A13: As of May 1, 2000, 76 percent of the German employees were hired in the Dresden area; an additional 13 percent were hired in the New Federal States (formerly East Germany). Q14: Who is the head of Fab 30? A14: Jim Doran is the general manager and vice president, Fab 30. Q15: Why did AMD choose Dresden as its location for Fab 30? A15: There are four main reasons why AMD decided to locate Fab 30 in Dresden. 1. People. Dresden has a long and proud history of microelectronics, pre-dating the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The political and economic upheavals in the early 1990s created a large pool of highly skilled and motivated potential employees from which AMD Saxony could draw upon in building an outstanding team. 2. Subsidies. The German Federal Government and the Saxon State Government support the project with approximately DM 800 million. This money is considered to be partially a 'pioneer bonus' to rebuild the industrial basis of the region with future-oriented companies such as AMD. 3. Educational Infrastructure. There are excellent universities and research centers specializing in the area of microelectronics to be found in the larger Dresden area. 4. Political and economic climate. The Free State of Saxony and the City of Dresden are working in a spirit of true partnership with high tech companies such as AMD. The local population is also very supportive of the project. -Scot