Hoping to catch up with Intel and IBM in an advanced chip-making technology, the California-based semiconductor maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) planned to announce yesterday that it has begun to ship chips based on an advanced manufacturing process that is being used to build the next generation of processors.
AMD is trailing those two rivals in making the shift to the new 90-nanometer manufacturing process, which makes it possible to put more transistors on a single chip or shrink the size of existing chips, effectively increasing performance while lowering prices.
But industry analysts gave AMD high marks for its recent manufacturing and design advances.
Both Intel and IBM have stumbled during the transition to the 90-nanometer process, struggling with performance, heat and manufacturing issues.
Although AMD is about nine months behind Intel in making the switch, the company has not lost significant ground, according to several industry analysts. Moreover, AMD surprised Intel with the success of its shift to 64-bit chips, forcing Intel, the market leader, to shift its strategy.
Intel had been betting that it could break the chip market into two incompatible segments, one for 32-bit designs and one for 64-bit designs. Intel's Itanium microprocessor, which is a 64-bit design, has not been widely adopted and Intel recently announced a new 64-bit microprocessor that is compatible with its X86 designs, and which largely copies AMD's 64-bit chip.
Making the shift to the 90-nanometer manufacturing process has been a significant struggle for semiconductor companies. It effectively doubles the manufacturing capacity of the industry, but entails enormous technical challenges because some components of the new chips are no more than five to seven molecules thick.
Typically, each generation of chips is defined by the size of the smallest feature that can be fabricated on the chips, which now have as many as a half billion transistors.
Industry analysts said that AMD would first use the new technology to lower costs by effectively doubling the number of chips that can be made from a single silicon wafer.
They warned, however, that the shift to the new process, which can lower costs while increasing performance and reducing heat, had to be smooth if AMD was to stay in the processor race.
AMD said that the first chip being manufactured using its 90-nanometer process is a version of its Mobile Athlon 64 processor.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned