Nanotech - The Circuits Blog

Globalfoundries has named former Cypress Semiconductor executive Jim Kupec to its top marketing position, as the newly established company begins to assemble its executive team.

Globalfoundries is the chip manufacturing company recently formed by a joint venture between Advanced Micro Devices and Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC).

Kupec spent 15 years with Cypress Semiconductor, rising through a variety of engineering, operations, and management positions to the role of senior vice president, according to a statement from Globalfoundries.

After leaving Cypress, Kupec became president of United Microelectronics Co. (UMC) USA. Taiwan-based UMC is one of the largest contract chip manufacturers in the world and competes with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Globalfoundries will compete with both of these companies for customers.

Most recently, Kupec served as chief operating officer of eSilicon, an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) design and manufacturing services company.

"The addition of Jim's extensive foundry experience, on both the supplier and customer side of the business, underscores our commitment to building a world-class global foundry services provider," said Doug Grose, CEO of Globalfoundries, in a statement.

Intel is accused of monopolistic business practices pretty much all of the time. So much so that the big bully boilerplate isn't worth repeating.

The latest reports of charges against Intel are interesting because of the timing. According to this March 10 headline, the Korean Fair Trade Commission has ruled against Intel. That would be news if it hadn't been news eight months ago. Here's an English-language summation of the case that was news in June 2008. (CNET News report here.)

Not that all complaints about Intel business practices are unfounded. Certainly not. But how many times do we have to hear the "news" that Intel leveraged its market position to finesse a deal? (Answer: ad nauseam.) In this case, the American Antitrust Institute selectively translated text from an old 133-page report to show that Intel coerced Samsung (and others) into using Intel chips instead of those from Advanced Micro Devices.

Again, worth putting out there eight months ago but probably not today.

And let's remember that, of course, Nvidia and AMD never do this in the graphics chip market when they're trying to reel in a customer. No enticements, no sweeteners to close the deal. Absolutely not. Perish the thought.

But I shouldn't rush too quickly to Intel's defense. There will be plenty of real news related to Intel's market dominance in the coming years. The intensified focus now on Intel's business practices is happening against the backdrop of the severe financial straits of its sole competitor. No one wants to see AMD go away. (No stronger advocate of this than AMD itself.)

That said, the question should always be asked: is it really unfair competition or is it merely unfair as Intel's less-successful rival sees it? The grumblings I most often hear about are MDF and bundling. Different parties' interpretations of Intel business practices (real or imagined) connected to Market Development Funds and bundling are too varied and too byzantine to cover here. But that two-second Intel jingle at the end of a Dell, Hewlett-Packard, or Sony TV commercial can have, for AMD, an ominous ring to it.

All of the above gets (very) complicated because of Intel's dominant market position. One question is, where does MDF end and alleged brass-knuckles, restrictive bundling begin?

"So, Mr. Computer Maker, want some peppier graphics in that Netbook? We got this thing called the GN40...So you might want to reconsider that Ion thing." Nvidia may have a point here. But are they being out-bundled or simply out-maneuvered by Intel? You decide.

Production isn't the only thing being scaled back at Intel because of the world economy. The world's largest chipmaker will cancel its developer conference in Taiwan this year and scale back the one in Beijing.

The Intel Developer Forum in Taiwan typically takes place in October, while China IDF is in April. The IDF in the United States in September will not be affected, Intel said Monday. The Beijing IDF will be shortened to a one-day event. It is typically two days.

Intel uses the IDF to launch many of its products and technologies.

"It's the economy," said David Dickstein, an Intel spokesman. "The reaction we've gotten from exhibitors and sponsors when we told them about the scale-back in Beijing and cancellation of Taiwan, actually was overwhelmingly positive. They're saying it helps with their bottom line."

Attendance will fall dramatically in Beijing. "Before we would bring more than 100 international press to the event. But now the event is really geared toward the local community. We're looking at under 1,000 attendees instead of 5,000 plus," he said. Dickstein said he is working on ways to bring Beijing IDF to the world. "We're looking at a virtual conference," he said.

Both forums are slated to resume again in 2010, he said. So, this is a one-time action.

This was reported earlier at DigiTimes.

Intel is back, pitching its processors for gaming graphics.

The chipmaker will attempt to promote its silicon for sophisticated game effects at the upcoming Game Developers Conference in March, as it strives to make a case for quad-core processors in lieu of graphics chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

The pitch goes like this: "Learn how to easily add real-time 3D smoke, fog and other fluid simulations to your game without using up the GPU." That's according to an Intel Web page entitled Intel at Game Developers Conference. (The CPU is the central processing unit, or main brains of a computer; GPU stands for graphics processing unit.)

The session abstract goes on to say that the "source code to a fluid simulator optimized for multi-core CPUs...can easily be integrated by game developers into their engines to produce unique 3D effects."

Intel's argument raises the question, how should the CPU and GPU divvy up their tasks? In games, the CPU can handle things like physics and AI (artificial intelligence), and certain older games actually run some graphics on the CPU. Generally, however, the GPU is much more efficient (that is, faster) at handling most of the high-end effects that the gamer sees on the screen.

But there are exceptions. "Not all algorithms and processes map well to a GPU," said Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research. "You have to have a problem that is naturally parallel, and except for the rendering of, say, a water surface and subsurface and reflections, the wave motion equations will run just fine on a CPU," Peddie said.

Intel may also be seeking ways to make better use of its quad-core processors, according to Tom R. Halfhill, an analyst at the Microprocessor Report. But, he added: "I need to be convinced that a CPU can do those 3D effects better than a GPU can."

Then, there's also the Larrabee factor. Larrabee is an upcoming high-end graphics processor due late this year. "I'm sure some of it may also relate to Larrabee, which will include x86 cores, if or when it comes to market," said Jim McGregor, an analyst at In-Stat.

(This Mythbusters demonstration at an Nvidia conference is oversimplified and self-serving but it crystallizes the difference between CPUs and GPUs.)

In another GDC session, Intel is also pushing the CPU for physics and AI: "How can your game have more accurate physics, smarter AI, more particles, and/or a faster frame-rate? By threading your game's engine to take advantage of multi-core processors. Intel has built a threaded game engine and demo called 'Smoke' that shows one way of achieving this goal," the abstract states.

It continues: "This presentation examines the Smoke architecture and how it is designed to take advantage of all CPU cores available within a system. It does this by executing different functional and data blocks in parallel to utilize all available cores."

Intel won't stop there. It will also focus on the bane of many PC game developers: gaming on Intel integrated graphics silicon--a relatively low-performance platform that prohibits game titles from being displayed in all their glory at higher resolutions. The session will focus on "programming for scalable graphics applications" and cover "performance considerations when programming for integrated graphics in general with specific tips for Intel Integrated graphics."

Advanced Micro Devices said Monday that it will incur $70 million in restructuring costs in the fourth quarter, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing also cited fourth-quarter layoffs of 600 employees. An AMD spokesperson said that approximately 500 layoffs were announced in November, but that the company "ended up closer to 600."

The restructuring dollar figure is new, AMD said. The company now estimates that the "restructuring expense that it will record in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 will be approximately $70 million, based on the restructuring plan approved by the Company on December 19, 2008."

Of the $70 million, about $34 million is related to severance and employee benefits, $13 million is related to contract or program termination costs, approximately $17 million is connected to asset impairments, and about $6 million is related to exit costs at facilities.

Previously, AMD had reported in a Form 10-Q filing that it expected to cut approximately 500 employees and take a charge to operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 of approximately $50 million.

Future cost reductions are also planned. "Further cost reduction actions will result in additional charges in the first half of fiscal 2009, which the company cannot estimate at this time," according to Monday's Form 8K filing.

AMD also said that on December 19 it determined that it would incur a material charge for impairment of assets during the fiscal quarter ended December 27 related to the 2006 acquisition of ATI Technologies. "The Company concluded that the current carrying value of its goodwill...was impaired." AMD added: "This conclusion was reached based on the results of an updated long-term financial outlook for the businesses of the former ATI Technologies Inc. in light of the current market conditions and economic outlook" and "due to the deterioration in the price of the Company's common stock and the resulting reduced market capitalization."

AMD expects that the impairment charge "will be material, but, as of the time of this filing...is unable to estimate the amount or range of amounts of the impairment charge. The Company will disclose such an estimate or range of estimates in a filing with the SEC promptly and in any event within four business days of determining such an estimate or range of estimates," according to the Form 8K.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker split in two earlier this year in order to defray the burdensome costs of its manufacturing operations. The manufacturing operations received a massive investment from Mubadala Development Co. and is now run as a separate concern called The Foundry Company.

The price of its stock has sunk from about $6 in June of this year to a little more than $2.

The next-generation USB specification is slated to be introduced later this month.

USB 3.0 SuperSpeed logo as shown at WinHEC 2008

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

On November 17 the SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) Developers Conference, hosted by the USB Implementers Forum in San Jose, Calif., will unveil the USB 3.0 specification to the industry, according to a statement Wednesday from the Implementers Forum.

The USB 3.0 specification, a next-generation high-speed connection standard due in 2009, is significant because all future PCs and devices will use connectors based on it. The spec is also expected to offer 10 times the speed of USB 2.0--used in virtually all PCs introduced in the last few years--or roughly 5 gigabits per second.

Hewlett-Packard, Intel, NEC, NXP Semiconductors, Microsoft, and Texas Instruments are all backers of SuperSpeed USB.

Speaking at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles, USB-IF President Jeff Ravencraft said he expects the final specifications to be made public on November 17.

Intel and Nvidia had been skirmishing over the standard but resolved their differences.

There's life beyond WiMax. At the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei Intel is looking beyond that wireless technology to other communications methods for its upcoming Moorestown smartphone platform.

Intel senior vice president Anand Chandrasekher, speaking Monday at IDF, said that Intel will collaborate with Ericsson for High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) data modules for the Moorestown platform. WiMax is also supported, but it faces stiff competition from entrenched wireless technologies and may not be compelling enough to rise above the fray.

In addition to WiMax and HSPA, other wireless technologies including WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and mobile TV will be supported on Moorestown, Intel said.

Moorestown is a system-on-a-chip (SOC) comprised of "Lincroft," which integrates a 45-nanometer processor, graphics, memory controller, and video encode/decode onto a single chip. It also includes an "I/O hub" code-named Langwell that supports connection to wireless, storage, and display components.

Intel was also showing a number of slides that detail its upcoming Nehalem i7 processor and the accompanying X58 chipset. Intel said last week that Nehalem is shipping now and is due to be officially rolled out in November.

The i7 will initially appear as a quad-core processor and feature QuickPath Interconnect--a high-speed chip-to-chip communications technology--and "Turbo Boost," which had been referred to previously as "Turbo Mode." This is essentially a switch that turns off unused processor cores and then uses the remaining active cores more efficiently.

In Taipei, Intel also delineated the differences between Atom-based "Nettop" desktops and more mainstream desktop PCs. Intel is trying to promote Nettops for Web browsing, word processing, e-mail, and "legacy" games. Anything more taxing than these basic applications is not recommended for Nettops.

Intel Core i7 and x58 chipset features.

(Credit: Intel)

Intel Atom-based Nettop desktop.

(Credit: Intel)

Advanced Micro Devices talked more about options for reducing its participation in a new manufacturing venture during its third-quarter earnings call on Thursday. The chipmaker also offered more details on conversion to 45-nanometer processors.

AMD 45-nanometer die

(Credit: AMD)

Earlier this month, AMD announced that it was splitting into two companies: one for designing chips (AMD), the other for manufacturing them (The Foundry Company). The latter company will be owned approximately 56 percent by Advanced Technology Investment Co. (ATIC) and 44 percent by AMD.

During the conference call, AMD Chief Financial Officer Bob Rivet responded to a question from an analyst about an "exit strategy" for the foundry (manufacturing) side of the business by saying that AMD will "turn in more shares and ownership of the company" if necessary.

As Rivet put it, the foundry deal provides that "when a capital call is required for the foundry business, it allows us to either pay our fair share of that capital call or turn in more shares and ownership of the company...We'll make that determination at each point in time...There's a natural way to get out of it if we want to."

All of this--whether accounting is done on a consolidated or nonconsolidated basis--can get a little confusing for nonaccountants (and AMD even volunteered that it's "confusing") but Rivet put it this way. "Think of it this way: The Foundry Company piece of the bucket will have profits and losses...but they're all cashless. The cash generating machine of AMD is the AMD design product (company)."

Both Rivet and CEO Dirk Meyer also discussed AMD's conversion to 45-nanometer chips. "We'll be fully converted in first half of next year," said Meyer. Rivet added that it will be a "very fast ramp" to 45 nanometer chips. AMD is currently shipping processors based on 65-nanometer technology. Smaller geometries typically result in faster processors that use less power.

Speaking about AMD's 45-nanometer Shanghai server processor, Meyer said, "You'll see OEM (server) systems in the market this quarter," and added that AMD is "shipping the desktop variant this quarter and you'll see OEM systems in the market early next quarter."

Responding to a question about AMD's Netbook chip strategy and its response to Intel's Atom processor, Meyer said: "Clearly the Netbook is a new form factor and new market opportunity and one we're not participating in right now, today."

He said more details will come at an upcoming analyst meeting. "We do have strategies together with our OEMs for pushing solutions both down into smaller form factors and lower notebook price points."

Advanced Micro Devices reported a much smaller loss for the third quarter and better-than-expected revenue.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker reported third-quarter 2008 revenue of $1.776 billion, including process technology license revenue of $191 million.

Revenue increased 32 percent compared to the second quarter of 2008 and 14 percent compared to the third quarter of 2007.

A positive surprise is the net loss, which was significantly smaller than expected. The company reported a net loss of $67 million, or 11 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a third-quarter loss of 40 cents per share on $1.48 billion in revenue. The company also reached operating profitability in the quarter.

Analysts were impressed by the numbers. "Even in a normal environment this would be a pretty remarkable achievement. In today's environment, it's extraordinary," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at investment bank Collins Stewart.

"Improved execution across all of our businesses," Robert J. Rivet, AMD's chief financial officer, said in a statement, "was punctuated by a refresh of our graphics product line-up, driving 55 percent sequential revenue growth and market share gains. In addition, customer adoption of our quad-core microprocessors was strong, with unit shipments increasing 46 percent sequentially."

In the second quarter of 2008, AMD had revenue from continuing operations of $1.349 billion and a net loss of $1.189 billion. In the third quarter of 2007, AMD had revenue from continuing operations of $1.558 billion and a net loss of $396 million.

Third-quarter 2008 gross margin was 51 percent, or 45 percent excluding process technology license revenue. This compares favorably to both the second-quarter 2008 non-GAAP gross margin of 37 percent, and the third-quarter 2007 gross margin of 41 percent.

"We achieved a significant milestone with the recent announcement of our Asset Smart strategy, which will transform both AMD and the industry," Dirk Meyer, AMD's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Earlier this month, AMD announced that it was splitting into two companies: one for designing chips (AMD), the other for manufacturing them (The Foundry Company). The capital-intensive business of manufacturing chips had been weighing on AMD as it reeled under a $5 billion debt load, partially due to its purchase of ATI Technologies in 2006.

The investment is expected to allow AMD to remain directly involved in chip manufacturing--crucial for competing with Intel.

AMD said it has secured $5.7 billion of "confirmed, pledged investment," with some of the money earmarked for a future manufacturing facility in Malta, N.Y. It will own part of the new manufacturing entity, and Advanced Technology Investment Co. (ATIC) will own the rest.

In addition, ATIC will commit a minimum of $3.6 billion and up to $6 billion in additional funds over the next five years for the upgrade and expansion of fabrication facilities in Dresden, Germany, and construction the Malta, N.Y., facility.

One of the largest investors, Mubadala Development, now owns 19.3 percent of AMD.