WBMW,
As far as I knew, the agreement was for 65-nm and not much else. But it's been very difficult for me to find details. I haven't been able to find anything on AMD paying IBM $40 million to fix a broken process. If you could provide a link I'd appreciate it. As far as the joint agreement goes, AMD was doing low-k CVD dielectric in Dresden at 130-nm and working towards 90-nm. Didn't they say that in the fourth quarter of '03 they would be producing 90-nm product? This is pure speculation on my part, but it seems that AMD has solved many of the problems that plagued them late last year and that's partly what IBM is interested in. Anyway, I also read that IBM has mastered SiLK and that they would try and develop a hybrid of the two. I haven't heard any discussion on this possibility.
On a similar front, there has been talk of what AMD could possibly bring to lofty IBM. It has been said in some publications that AMD brings good engineering and outstanding incremental process improvement to the table besides low-k. I wouldn't be suprised to see some patents come out of this collaboration. I'm interested in your views and others on this board on this subject. Good luck,
D
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