Re:APM is nothing more than AMD copying Intel's Copy Exactly methodology
Actually, no... APM is the factory automation, data collection, and feedback system. It keeps track of every wafer, where it has been, when it was there, who did what to it, etc... It also keeps track of measured results from that wafer... CD's, yields, bin splits, etc...
Alan, Intel's fab processes have done this for years, and they didn't need to put press releases out for it because it was just common sense. APM also has a lot of Copy Exactly methods, which is why I made the comparison. In the end, though, AMD is just making a big deal about something that many in the industry already do well.
Re: One thing we can be certain of is that Intel has many, many more engineers working on this than AMD does. To believe that AMD has a better system is just wishful thinking.
Exactly. Intel has also been mastering these techniques for many years, while AMD is the newcomer. Their engineers are just now learning these processes, while the processes have been at place at Intel for a decade or more.