AMD 'to make 65nm chips next month'

AMD looks set to ship its first 65 nm chips from its Dresden plant next month, a move vital if it is to stop Intel pulling to far ahead in the technology race.

Staff at Dresden are evasive over the issue but Toralf Gueldner, director of production, said the company has been able to produce 65 nm products since June. What he called 'full flow' was achieved this month, with serious 65nm shipments expected in October.

More intriguing is the fact that Gueldner expects AMD to be " fully converted " over to 65 nm by mid-2007, but he did not elaborate.

The 65nm refers to the smallest feature size on a chip; the smaller it is the more chips can be packed on to the wafers on which they are made, and the greater the yield. Small features also allow lower voltages, lower power drain, and (within limits) higher clock rates.

Gueldner revealed that AMD has already created its first 45 nm test chips. In the distant future they will be followed by 32 nm and 22 nm products.

What AMD really wanted to talk about is the gradual conversion of its existing Fab 30 over to 300 mm wafers from 200 mm; bigger wafers hold more chips and therefore boost production.

Additional reporting by PCW staff in London. There is a longer version of this story at our sister site here.