The Fab 36, as expected, will manufacture chips in 300mm wafers using 65nm technology process. This will allow AMD to cost-effectively make its MPUs and this seems to be the company’s primary goal for the new foundry. Even though there is 20% to 30% gap between the costs of manufacturing using 200mm wafers and 300mm wafers as well as shrink of fabrication technology to 65nm process also provides some cost benefits, CPUs also get more and more complex, as a result, there are no breakthroughs in margins or costs expected by the company’s management.
AMD projects the building to be completed in late 2004, 12 months from now. The company will begin the installation of equipment “just before the end of the 2004†and plans to start qualifications of the fab in the late 1H 2005. Earlier it was said that the Fab 36 will become operational in 2006. It usually takes 18 to 24 months to fully deploy a semiconductor foundry at 100% capacity. The new facility will employ roughly 1000 people.