AMD heeft een press release gepost waarin ze bekend maken meer 0,18 micron equipment gekocht te hebben voor hun production plant in Austin. Ook wordt gezegd dat er inmiddels 5000 0,18 micron Athlon wafers zijn gebakken. Volgens Ace's Hardware kan AMD bij goede yields ongeveer 270 Athlons uit een wafer halen. Hopelijk wil dit zeggen dat we binnen niet al te lange tijd de eerste 0,18micron (700MHz) Athlons op de markt zullen zien:
"AMD's leading-edge Fab 25 in Austin, Texas, is qualifying the initial system for 0.18 micron shallow trench isolation (STI) for AMD Athlon(TM) processor production. Subsequent systems will add capacity at AMD's Fab 25 and will be used for advanced CMP applications in AMD's Submicron Development Center in Sunnyvale, California." "AMD achieved excellent within-die and across-wafer uniformity as well as very low defect densities.""Jeremy Lansford, an AMD manager, addressed Teres' manufacturability, "We are impressed by Teres' exceptional cost of ownership. The low cost is driven by the combination of outstanding reliability, fast consumables changes, and a cost-effective carrier design. With more than 5,000 wafers polished on the Teres so far, the MTBF approaches 300 hours, and the system hasn't broken a wafer. Teres is setting a new standard for reliability among advanced CMP systems.""
