Advanced Micro Devices

Infobox_Company
company_name=Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
company_logo=
company_type=Public (nyse|AMD)
foundation=1969
founder=W. Jerry Sanders III
Edwin J. Turney
Additional co-founders
location_city=Sunnyvale, California, US
key_people=Derrick R. Meyer
(CEO), (President) & (Director)
Héctor De J. Ruiz
(Executive Chairman)
area_served = Worldwide
industry=Semiconductors
products=Microprocessors
Motherboard chipsets
Graphics processors
DTV decoder chips
Handheld media chipsets
slogan="Smarter Choice"
market c
US$ 3.00 billion ("2008")
revenue= profit US$ 6.013 billion ("2007")
operating_income = loss US$ -2.865 billion ("2007")
net_income= loss US$ -3.379 billion ("2007")
assets= decrease US$ 11.550 billion ("2007")
equity= decrease US$ 2.990 billion ("2007")
num_employees=15,653 ("2008")
homepage= [http://www.amd.com/ AMD.com]

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) (nyse|AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets. Its main products include microprocessors, motherboard chipsets, embedded processors and graphics processors for servers, workstations and personal computers, and processor technologies for handheld devices, digital television, and game consoles.

AMD is the second-largest global supplier of microprocessors based on the x86 architecture after Intel Corporation, and the third-largest supplier of graphics processing units. It also owns 21 percent of Spansion, a supplier of non-volatile flash memory. In 2007, AMD ranked eleventh among semiconductor manufacturers in terms of revenue. [web cite |url=http://www.isuppli.com/marketwatch/default.asp?id=423|title=Competitiveness Separates Winners from Losers in 2007 Semiconductor Market |publisher=iSuppli Market Watch|date=December 3, 2007]

Corporate history

Advanced Micro Devices was founded on May 1, 1969, by a group of former executives from Fairchild Semiconductor, including Jerry Sanders, III, Ed Turney, John Carey, Sven Simonsen, Jack Gifford and three members from Gifford's team, Frank Botte, Jim Giles, and Larry Stenger. The company began as a producer of logic chips, then entered the RAM chip business in 1975. That same year, it introduced a reverse-engineered clone of the Intel 8080 microprocessor. During this period, AMD also designed and produced a series of bit-slice processor elements (Am2900, Am29116, Am293xx) which were used in various minicomputer designs.

During this time, AMD attempted to embrace the perceived shift towards RISC with their own AMD 29K processor, and they attempted to diversify into graphics and audio devices as well as EPROM memory. It had some success in the mid-80s with the AMD7910 and AMD7911 "World Chip" FSK modem, one of the first multistandard devices that covered both Bell and CCITT tones at up to 1200 baud half duplex or 300/300 full duplex. While the AMD 29K survived as an embedded processor and AMD spinoff Spansion continues to make industry leading flash memory, AMD was not as successful with its other endeavors. AMD decided to switch gears and concentrate solely on Intel-compatible microprocessors and flash memory. This put them in direct competition with Intel for x86 compatible processors and their flash memory secondary markets.

It has been reported in December 2006 that AMD along with its main rival in the graphics industry nVidia, received subpoenas from the Justice Department regarding possible antitrust violations in the graphics card industry, including the act of fixing prices. [web cite |url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6140041.html |title=Justice Dept. subpoenas AMD, Nvidia |publisher=New York Times|date=December 1, 2006]

AMD announced a merger with ATI Technologies on July 24, 2006. AMD paid $4.3 billion in cash and 58 million shares of its stock for a total of US$5.4 billion. The merger completed on October 25, 2006 [ cite web |url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2006/25/c4187.html |title=AMD Completes ATI Acquisition and Creates Processing Powerhouse |publisher=NewsWire |date=October 25, 2006 ] and ATI is now part of AMD.

In October 2008, AMD stated that it is going to spin off their manufacturing operations in the form of a multibillion-dollar joint venture with Advanced Technology Investment Co., an investment company formed by the government of Abu Dhabi. The new venture is called Foundry Co. This will allow AMD to focus solely on chip design. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/technology/07chip.html?bl&ex=1223611200&en=6c2c0d7539595be6&ei=5087%0A]

Processor market history

IBM PC and the x86 architecture

In February 1982, AMD signed a contract with Intel, becoming a licensed second-source manufacturer of 8086 and 8088 processors. IBM wanted to use the Intel 8088 in its IBM PC, but IBM's policy at the time was to require at least two sources for its chips. AMD later produced the Am286 under the same arrangement, but Intel canceled the agreement in 1986 and refused to convey technical details of the i386 part. AMD challenged Intel's decision to cancel the agreement and won in arbitration, but Intel disputed this decision. A long legal dispute followed, ending in 1994 when the Supreme Court of California sided with AMD. Subsequent legal disputes centered on whether AMD had legal rights to use derivatives of Intel's microcode. In the face of uncertainty, AMD was forced to develop "clean room" versions of Intel code.

In 1991, AMD released the Am386, its clone of the Intel 386 processor. It took less than a year for the company to sell a million units. Later, the Am486 was used by a number of large original equipment manufacturers, including Compaq, and proved popular. Another Am486-based product, the Am5x86, continued AMD's success as a low-price alternative. However, as product cycles shortened in the PC industry, the process of reverse engineering Intel's products became an ever less viable strategy for AMD.

K5, K6 and Athlon

AMD's first completely in-house x86 processor was the K5 which was launched in 1996. cite web|url=http://www.cpu-info.com/index2.php?mainid=html/cpu/amdk5.php |title=AMD K5 |accessdate=2007-07-11 |publisher=CPU-INFO.COM ] The "K" was a reference to "Kryptonite", which from comic book lore, was the only substance that could harm Superman, with a clear reference to Intel, which dominated in the market at the time, as "Superman".cite news | first=Arik | last=Hesseldahl | coauthors= | title=Why Cool Chip Code Names Die | date=2000-07-06 | publisher=Forbes.com Inc | url =http://www.forbes.com/2000/07/06/mu2.html | work =forbes.com | pages = | accessdate = 2007-07-14 | language = ]

In 1996, AMD purchased NexGen specifically for the rights to their Nx series of x86-compatible processors. AMD gave the NexGen design team their own building, left them alone, and gave them time and money to rework the Nx686. The result was the K6 processor, introduced in 1997.

The K7 was AMD's seventh generation x86 processor, making its debut on June 23, 1999, under the brand name Athlon.On October 9, 2001 the Athlon XP was released, followed by the Athlon XP with 512KB L2 Cache on February 10, 2003.cite news | first=Jack | last=Huynh | coauthors= | title=The AMD Athlon XP Processor with 512KB L2 Cache | date=2003-02-10 | publisher=AMD | url =http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/26485A_AthlXPwp_2-20.pdf | work =amd.com | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-02 | language = ]

Athlon 64, Opteron and Phenom

The K8 was a major revision of the K7 architecture, with the most notable features being the addition of a 64-bit extension to the x86 instruction set (officially called AMD64), the incorporation of an on-chip memory controller, and the implementation of an extremely high performance point-to-point interconnect called HyperTransport, as part of the Direct Connect Architecture. The technology was initially launched as the Opteron server-oriented processor. [Scott Wasson. " [http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2003q3/workstation/index.x?pg=1 Workstation platforms compared] ", "techreport.com", The Tech Report, LLC., 2003-09-15, Retrieved on 2007-07-29.] Shortly thereafter it was incorporated into a product for desktop PCs, branded Athlon 64. [Scott Wasson. " [http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2003q3/athlon64/index.x?pg=1 AMD's Athlon 64 processor] ", "techreport.com", The Tech Report, LLC., 2003-09-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.]

AMD released the first dual core Opteron, an x86-based server CPU, on April 21, 2005. [Scott Wasson. " [http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2005q2/opteron-x75/index.x?pg=1 AMD's dual-core Opteron processors] ", "techreport.com", The Tech Report, LLC., 2005-04-21. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.] The first desktop-based dual core processor family — the Athlon 64 X2 — came a month later. [Scott Wasson. " [http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2005q2/athlon64-x2/index.x?pg=1 AMD's Athlon 64 X2 processors] ", "techreport.com", The Tech Report, LLC., 2005-05-09. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.] In early May 2007, AMD had abandoned the string "64" in its dual-core desktop product branding, becoming Athlon X2, downplaying the significance of 64-bit computing in its processors while upcoming updates involves some of the improvements to the microarchitecture, and a shift of target market from mainstream desktop systems to value dual-core desktop systems. AMD has also started to release dual-core Sempron processors in early 2008 exclusively in China, branded as Sempron 2000 series, with lower HyperTransport speed and smaller L2 cache, thus the firm completes its dual-core product portfolio for each market segment.

The latest AMD microprocessor architecture, known as K10, became the successor to the K8 microarchitecture. The first processors released on this architecture were introduced on September 10, 2007 consisting of nine quad-core Third Generation Opteron processors. This was followed by the Phenom processor for desktop. K10 processors will come in dual, triple-core, [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~120741,00.html AMD announcement] , retrieved September 17, 2007] and quad-core versions with all cores on one single die.

Fusion

After the merger between AMD and ATI, an initiative codenamed "Fusion" was announced that merges a CPU and GPU on one chip, including a minimum 16 lane PCI Express link to accommodate external PCI Express peripherals, thereby eliminating the requirement of a northbridge chip completely from the motherboard. AMD will move to a modular design methodology named "M-SPACE", where two new processor cores, codenamed "Bulldozer" and "Bobcat" will be released in the 2009 timeframe.

While very little preliminary information exists even in AMD's Technology Analyst Day 2007, both cores are to be built from the ground up. The "Bulldozer" core focused on 10 watt to 100 watt products, with optimizations for performance-per-watt ratios and HPC applications and includes newly announced SSE5 instructions, while the "Bobcat" core will focus on 1 watt to 10 watt products, given that the core is a simplified x86 core to reduce power draw. Both of the cores will be able to incorporate full DirectX compatible GPU core(s) under the "Fusion" label, or as standalone products as a general purpose CPU.

Other platforms and technologies

AMD chipsets

Before the launch of Athlon 64 processors in 2003, AMD designed chipsets for their processors spanning the K6 and K7 processor generations. The chipsets include the AMD-640, AMD-751 and the AMD-761 chipsets. The situation changed in 2003 with the release of Athlon 64 processors, and AMD chose not to further design its own chipsets for its desktop processors while opening the desktop platform to allow other firms to design chipsets. This is the "Open Platform Initiative". The initiative was proven to be a success, with many firms such as Nvidia, ATI, VIA and SiS developing their own chipset for Athlon 64 processors and later Athlon 64 X2 and Athlon 64 FX processors, including the Quad FX platform chipset from Nvidia.

The initiative went further with the release of Opteron server processors as AMD stopped the design of server chipsets in 2004 after releasing the AMD-8111 chipset, and again opened the server platform for firms to develop chipsets for Opteron processors. As of today, Nvidia and Broadcom are the sole designing firms of server chipsets for Opteron processors.

As the company completed the acquisition of ATI Technologies in 2006, the firm gained the ATI design team for chipsets which previously designed the Radeon Xpress 200 and the Radeon Xpress 3200 chipsets. AMD then renamed the chipsets for AMD processors under AMD branding (for instance, the CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset was renamed as AMD 580X CrossFire chipset). In February 2007, AMD announced the first AMD-branded chipset since 2004 with the release of the AMD 690G chipset (previously under the development codename "RS690"), targeted at mainstream IGP computing. It was the industry's first to implement a HDMI 1.2 port on motherboards, shipping for more than a million units. While ATI had aimed at releasing an Intel IGP chipset, the plan was scrapped and the inventories of Radeon Xpress 1250 (codenamed "RS600", sold under ATI brand) was sold to two OEMs, Abit and AsRock. Although AMD states the firm will still produce Intel chipsets, Intel had not granted the license of nowrap|1333 MHz FSB to ATI. Considering the rivalry between AMD and Intel, AMD is less likely to release more Intel chipset designs in the foreseeable future.

On November 15, 2007, AMD has announced a new chipset series portfolio, the AMD 7-Series chipsets, covering from enthusiast multi-graphics segment to value IGP segment, to replace the AMD 480/570/580 chipsets and AMD 690 series chipsets. Marking AMD's first enthusiast multi-graphics chipset. Discrete graphics chipsets were launched on November 15, 2007 as part of the codenamed "Spider" desktop platform, and IGP chipsets were launched at a later time in Spring 2008 as part of the codenamed "Cartwheel" platform.

AMD will also return to the server chipsets market with the next-generation AMD 800S series server chipsets, scheduled to be released in 2009 timeframe.

AMD Live!

AMD LIVE! is a platform marketing initiative focusing the consumer electronics segment, with a recently announced Active TV initiative for streaming Internet videos from web video services such as YouTube, into AMD Live! PC as well as connected digital TVs, together with a scheme for an ecosystem of certified peripherals for the ease of customers to identify peripherals for AMD Live! systems for digital home experience, called "AMD Live! Ready". [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~116469,00.html Official Press Release] (AMD Live! Ready and Active TV initiative)]

AMD Quad FX platform

The AMD Quad FX platform, being an extreme enthusiast platform, allows two processors to connect through HyperTransport, which is a similar setup to dual-processor (2P) servers, excluding the use of buffered memory/registered memory DIMM modules, and a server motherboard, the current setup includes two Athlon 64 FX FX-70 series processors and a special motherboard. AMD pushed the platform for the surging demands for what AMD calls "megatasking" for true enthusiasts, [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~114483,00.html?redir=dtfx04 Official Press Release] (AMD Quad FX Platform with Dual Socket Direct Connect Architecture Redefines High-End Computing for Megatasking Enthusiasts)] the ability to do more tasks on one single system. The platform refreshes with the introduction of Phenom FX processors and the next-generation RD790 chipset, codenamed "FASN8".

Commercial platform

The first AMD server/workstation platform after ATI acquisition is scheduled to be released on 2009 timeframe. Codenamed "Fiorano", AMD's first multi-processor server platform after ATI acquisition consists of AMD SR5690 + SP5100 server chipsets, supporting 45 nm, codenamed "Shanghai" Socket F+ processors and registered DDR2 memory. Future update include the "Maranello" platform supporting 45 nm, codenamed "IStanbul", Socket G34 processors with DDR3 memory. On single-processor platform, the codenamed "Catalunya" platform consists of codenamed "Suzuka" 45 nm quad-core processor with AMD SR5580 + SP5100 chipset and DDR3 support. [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/Platform_RM_Fusion.pdf AMD Server/Workstation platform roadmap] , retrieved October 4, 2008]

AMD's virtualization extension to the 64-bit x86 architecture is named "AMD Virtualization", also known by the abbreviation "AMD-V", and is sometimes referred to by the code name "Pacifica". AMD processors using Socket AM2, Socket S1, and Socket F include AMD Virtualization support. AMD Virtualization is also supported by release two (8200, 2200 and 1200 series) of the Opteron processors. The third generation (8300 and 2300 series) of Opteron processors will see an update in virtualization technology, specifically the Rapid Virtualization Indexing (also known by the development name "Nested Page Tables"), alongside the Tagged TLB and Device Exclusion Vector (DEV).

AMD also promotes the "AMD I/O Virtualization Technology" (also known as IOMMU) for I/O virtualization. [cite web|url=http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~117440,00.html|title=AMD press release] The AMD IOMMU specification has been updated to version 1.2. [cite web | url=http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/34434.pdf | title=AMD IOMMU specification 1.2 | format=PDF] The specification describes the use of a HyperTransport architecture.

AMD's commercial initiatives include the following:
* AMD Trinity, provides support for virtualization, security and management. Key features include AMD-V technology, codenamed "Presidio" trusted computing platform technology, I/O Virtualization and Open Management Partition. [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/MartySeyerAMDAnalystWebv3.pdf AMD Analyst Day presentation] , page 24, retrieved July 14, 2007]
* AMD Raiden, future clients similar to the Jack PC [cite web|url=http://www.chippc.com/thin-clients/jack-pc/|title=Jack PC page] to be connected through network to a blade server for central management, to reduce client form factor sizes with AMD Trinity features.
* Torrenza, coprocessors support through interconnects such as HyperTransport as PCI Express (though more focus was at HyperTransport enabled coprocessors), also opening processor socket architecture to other manufacturers, Sun and IBM are among the supporting consortium, with rumoured POWER7 processors would be socket-compatible to future Opteron processors. The move made rival Intel responded with the open of Front Side Bus (FSB) architecture as well as Geneseo, [cite web|url=http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20060927comp_a.htm|title=Intel Geneseo press release] a collaboration project with IBM for coprocessors connected through PCI Express. Note that AMD positioned Torrenza for commercial segment, whilst Intel positioned Geneseo for all segments including consumer desktop segments Fact|date=July 2007.
* Various certified systems programs and platforms: AMD Commercial Stable Image Platform (CSIP), together with AMD Validated Server program, AMD True Server Solutions, AMD Thermally Tested Barebones Platforms and AMD Validated Server Program, providing certified systems for business from AMD.

Desktop platforms

Starting in 2007, AMD, following Intel, began using codenames for its desktop platforms such as "Spider". The platforms, unlike Intel's approach, will refresh every year, putting focus on platform specialization. The platform includes components as AMD processors, chipsets, ATI graphics and other features, but continued to the open platform approach, and welcome components from other vendors such as VIA, SiS, and Nvidia, as well as wireless product vendors.

Updates to the platform includes the implemtation of IOMMU I/O Virtualization with 45 nm generation of processors, and the AMD 800 chipset series in 2009. [ [http://download.amd.com/Corporate/MarioRivasDec2007AMDAnalystDay.pdf AMD Financial Analyst Day 2007 presentation] , presented by Mario Rivas, page 24 of 28. Retrieved December 14, 2007]

Embedded systems

In February 2002, AMD acquired Alchemy Semiconductor and continued its line of processor in MIPS architecture processors, targets the hand-held and Portable media player markets. On June 13, 2006, AMD officially announced that the Alchemy processor line was transferred to Raza Microelectronics Inc.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=AMD Alchemy processor product line acquired by Raza Microelectronics | date=2006-06-14 | publisher=technologynewsdaily.com | url =http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/3336 | work =TechNews | pages = | accessdate = 2007-07-11 | language = ]

In August 2003, AMD also purchased the Geode business which was originally the Cyrix MediaGX from National Semiconductor to augment its existing line of embedded x86 processor products. During the second quarter of 2004, it launched new low-power Geode NX processors based on the K7 Thoroughbred architecture with speeds of fanless processors nowrap|667 MHz and nowrap|1 GHz, and nowrap|1.4 GHz processor with fan, of TDP 25 W. This technology is used in a variety of embedded systems (Casino slot machines and customer kiosks for instance), several UMPC designs in Asia markets, as well as the OLPC XO-1 computer, an inexpensive laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries around the world.

For the past couple of years AMD has been introducing 64-bit processors into its embedded product line starting with the AMD Opteron processor. Leveraging the high throughput enabled through HyperTransport and the Direct Connect Architecture these server class processors have been targeted at high end telecom and storage applications. In 2006 AMD added the AMD Athlon, AMD Turion and Mobile AMD Sempron processors to its embedded product line. Leveraging the same 64-bit instruction set and Direct Connect Architecture as the AMD Opteron but at lower power levels and in smaller footprint packages Fact|date=February 2008, these processors were well suited to a variety of traditional embedded applications. Throughout 2007 and into 2008 AMD has continued to add both single-core Mobile AMD Sempron and AMD Athlon processors and dual-core AMD Athlon X2 and AMD Turion processors to its embedded product line and now offers embedded 64-bit solutions starting with 8W TDP Mobile AMD Sempron and AMD Athlon processors for fan-less designs up to multi-processor systems leveraging multi-core AMD Opteron processors all supporting longer than standard availability.

In April 2007, AMD announced the release of the M690T integrated graphics chipset for embedded designs. This enabled AMD to offer complete processor and chipset solutions targeted at embedded applications requiring high performance 3D and video such as emerging digital signage, kiosk and Point of Sale applications. The M690T was followed by the M690E specifically for embedded applications which removed the TV output, which required Macrovision licensing for OEMs, and enabled native support for dual TMDS outputs, enabling dual independent DVI interfaces.

Flash technology

While less visible to the general public than its CPU business, AMD is also a global leader in flash memory. In 1993, AMD established a 50-50 partnership with Fujitsu called FASL, and merged into a new company called FASL LLC in 2003. The joint venture firm went public under ticker symbol SPSN in December 2005, with AMD shares drop to 37%.

AMD no longer directly participates in the Flash memory devices market now as AMD entered into a non-competition agreement, as of December 21, 2005, with Fujitsu and Spansion, pursuant to which it agreed not to directly or indirectly engage in a business that manufactures or supplies standalone semiconductor devices (including single chip, multiple chip or system devices) containing only Flash memory. [cite web|url=http://apps.shareholder.com/s/viewerContent.aspx?companyid=SPSN&docid=4095716|title=Press release]

Mobile platforms

AMD started a platform in 2003 aimed at mobile computing, but, with fewer advertisements and promotional schemes, very little was known about the platform. The platform used mobile Athlon 64 or mobile Sempron processors.

As part of the "Better by design" initiative, the open mobile platform, announced February 2007 with announcement of general availability in May 2007, comes together with 65 nm fabrication process Turion 64 X2, and consists of three major components: an AMD processor, graphics from either Nvidia or ATI Technologies which also includes integrated graphics (IGP), and wireless connectivity solutions from Atheros, Broadcom, Marvell, Qualcomm or Realtek.

The "Puma" platform and Turion Ultra processor was released on June 4, 2008. In the future, AMD plans quad-core processors with 3D graphics capabilities ("Fusion") to be launched in 2009 as the "Eagle" platform.

Other initiatives

* 50x15, digital inclusion, with targeted 50% of world population to be connected through Internet via affordable computers by the year of 2015.
* The Green Grid, [cite web|url=http://www.thegreengrid.org/|title=The Green Grid website] founded by AMD together with other founders, such as IBM, Sun and Microsoft, to seek lower power consumption for grids. Intel was notably absent from the consortium when it was founded, and finally joined in early 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/07/intel_green_grid/|title=Intel set to join AMD-backed Green Grid]
* Codenamed "SIMFIRE" interoperability testing tool for the Desktop and mobile Architecture for System Hardware (DASH) open architecture.

Software

* Extensions for software parallelism (xSP), aimed at speeding up programs to enable multi-threaded and multi-core processing, announced in Technology Analyst Day 2007. One of the initiative being discussed since August 2007 is the Light Weight Profiling (LWP), providing internal hardware monitor with runtimes, to observe information about executing process and help the re-design of software to be optimized with multi-core and even multi-threaded programs. Another one is the extension of Streaming SIMD Extension (SSE) instruction set, the SSE5.

Technologies from ATI

After the takeover of ATI, AMD restructured some of the product lineups from both companies. Some products were being rebranded under the AMD brand, including the Imageon for mobile phones and handheld devices, the Xilleon for consumer electronics (digital TV sets), ATI Xpress chipsets (to AMD chipsets) for AMD processors platform and GPGPU computing line-up FireStream, previously known as AMD Stream Processor. Some others retained the use of ATI branding, including the Radeon line of graphics, and chipsets for Intel processors.

Production and fabrication

AMD produces their own processors in wholly owned semiconductor Fabrication Plants, called "FABs". AMD uses a "FAB x" naming convention for their production facilities, where "x" is the numberof years that have passed between the founding of AMD and the date the FAB opened.

At their Fabrication facilities, AMD utilizes a system called Automated Precision Manufacturing (APM). APM is a collection of manufacturing technologies AMD has developed over their history (many of which AMD holds patents for), which are designed to enhance the microprocessor production process, primarily in terms of yield. Much of APM is related to removing the "human equation" from the manufacturing process by isolating in-process wafers in containers that are only exposed to clean room facilities. AMD claims that the technologies that combine to make APM are unique to the industry and make it the foremost semiconductor manufacturer in the world - a fact which is lent some credence by their current agreement with Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing based in Singapore. India's first Fab City, a silicon chip manufacturing facility at Hyderabad, being setup with an investment of $3 billion by the AMD-SemIndia consortium.

AMD currently has a production agreement with foundry Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing which allows Chartered access to AMD Automated Precision Manufacturing (APM) process technology, in exchange for which Chartered will act as extra production capacity for AMD.

Through the acquisition of ATI, AMD also has manufacturing agreements with TSMC to produce ATI's lines of graphics and chipset processors. It is currently unclear how much of ATI's manufacturing needs will be moved to AMD's own fabs and how much will remain outsourced to other foundry companies, but AMD has announced plans for future processors to be outsourced to TSMC, while coincidently TSMC had announced it had received orders to fabricate x86 processors.

AMD's main microprocessor manufacturing and design facilities are located in Dresden, Germany. Additionally, highly integrated microprocessors are manufactured in Taiwan made by third-party manufacturers under strict license from AMD. Between 2003 and 2005, they constructed a second manufacturing plant (nowrap|300 mm 90 nm process SOI) in the same complex in order to increase the number of chips they can produce, thus becoming more competitive with Intel. The new plant has been named "Fab 36", in recognition of AMD's 36 years of operation, and is expected to reach full production in mid-2007. AMD recently announced that they have just completed the conversion of Fab 36 from nowrap|90 nm to 65 nm and have now shifted their focus to the 45 nm conversion. [Rick C. Hodgin. " [http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/33105/135/1/3/ Wrap-up: AMD outlines a bright future at Technology Analyst Day] ", "tgdaily.com", Tigervision Media, 2007-07-26, pp.4. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.]

AMD has planned expansions in their production capacity. In addition to the completion of Fab 36 in Dresden, AMD is planning to upgrade Fab 30 (adjacent to Fab 36) in Dresden from nowrap|200 mm 90 nm process SOI to a nowrap|300 mm nowrap|65 nm process SOI facility and rename it Fab 38. Originally, Fab 30 was supposed to begin nowrap|65 nm production in late 2007 but AMD recently announced they would slow down the upgrade to reduce capital expenditures. [Anton Shilov. " [http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/display/20070721233729.html AMD’s Fab 36 Fully Converted to nowrap|65 nm Process Technology AMD. AMD Is Happy with nowrap|65 nm Yields, Including "Barcelona"] ", "xbitlabs.com", X-bit labs, 2007-07-21. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.]

Packaging and testing facilities for its microprocessor products are located in Singapore, Malaysia and China.

Furthermore, AMD announced plans to open a new $3.2 billion facility at the Luther Forest Technology Campus across the towns of Malta and Stillwater in Saratoga County, New York. This new Fab 4x will likely produce nowrap|300 mm 32 nm process SOI production, with construction taking place from 2009 to 2010. Some speculation exists as to whether this facility will use high-K/metal gate technology that AMD obtained from IBM. [John G. Spooner. " [http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1980943,00.asp AMD to Build Factory in New York] ", "eweek.com", Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc., 2006-06-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.]

AMD has also invested $3billion to build a chip fabrication plant in India. Currently, AMD is manufacturing chips in India as a result of their partnership with SemIndia, a group of investors aiming at building a wafer fab, as well as assembly and test operation centers. " [http://news.softpedia.com/news/AMD-Ponders-Over-New-Chip-Plant-in-India-72389.shtml AMD ponders over new chip plant in India] "

In June 2006, Chartered Semiconductor began shipments of manufactured AMD microprocessors, many of which are shipped from Singapore to Taiwanese and Chinese OEM/ODM manufacturing companies that build computers for companies like Lenovo and Dell. [Anton Shilov. " [http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20060713014210.html AMD Begins Revenue Shipments of Processors Produced by Chartered. AMD Initiates Shipments of Chartered-Built CPUs] ", "xbitlabs.com", X-bit labs, 2006-07-13. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.]

AMD maintains major design facilities in Fort Collins, CO, Sunnyvale, CA, Austin, TX, Boxborough, MA, Bangalore, India, and Hyderabad, India. With the acquisition of ATI Technologies, the company gained ownership over major design facilities in Markham, ON and Santa Clara, CA.

Corporate affairs

Partnerships

AMD utilizes strategic industry partnerships to further its business interests as well as to tackle Intel's dominance and resources. Notably Nvidia's nForce2 chipset generated substantial revenues for Nvidia as a popular enthusiast part.

A partnership between AMD and Alpha Processor Inc. developed HyperTransport, a point-to-point interconnect standard which was turned over to an industry standards body for finalization. It is now used in modern AMD processor compatible motherboards.

AMD also formed a strategic partnership with IBM, under which AMD gained silicon on insulator (SOI) manufacturing technology, and detailed advice on 90 nm implementation, the partnership was announced by AMD to be extended to 2011 for 32 nm and 22 nm fabrication related technologies. [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/DarylOstranderAMDAnalystDay.pdf AMD Analyst Day June 2006 Presentation] , slide 10] Further, AMD is loosely partnered with end-user companies such as HP, Compaq, ASUS, Alienware, Acer, Evesham Technology, Dell and several others to facilitate processor distribution and sales.

On May 18, 2006, Dell announced that it would roll out new servers based on AMD's Opteron chips by years end, thus ending an exclusive relationship with Intel. Dell also began offering AMD Athlon X2 chips in their desktop line-up in September 2006.

AMD is also a sponsor of the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro F1 Team since 2002 and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team since 2004.

Litigation with Intel

AMD has a long history of litigation with former partner and x86 creator Intel.cite web |url=http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/AMD_-_Intel_Litigation_History.pdf |title=AMD-INTEL LITIGATION HISTORY |publisher=AMD |accessdaymonth = January 12|accessyear=2007] [cite web|url=http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/Complaint_summary.pdf|title=Summary U.S. antitrust complaint against Intel|format=PDF] [cite web|url=http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/AMD-Intel_Full_Complaint.pdf|title=Full text of U.S. antitrust complaint against Intel|format=PDF]
*In 1986 Intel broke an agreement it had with AMD to allow them to produce Intel's micro-chips for IBM; AMD filed for arbitration in 1987 and the arbitrator decided in AMD's favor in 1992. Intel disputed this, and the case ended up in the Supreme Court of California. In 1994, that court upheld the arbitrator's decision and awarded damages for breach of contract.
*In 1990, Intel brought a copyright infringement action alleging illegal use of its 287 microcode. The case ended in 1994 with a jury finding for AMD and its right to use Intel's microcode in its microprocessors through the 486 generation.
*In 1997, Intel filed suit against AMD and Cyrix Corp. for misuse of the term MMX. AMD and Intel settled, with AMD acknowledging MMX as a trademark owned by Intel, and with Intel granting AMD rights to market the AMD K6 MMX processor.
*In 2005, following an investigation, the Japan Federal Trade Commission found Intel guilty on a number of violations. On June 27, 2005, AMD won an antitrust suit against Intel in Japan, and on the same day, AMD filed a broad antitrust complaint against Intel in the U.S. Federal District Court in Delaware. The complaint alleges systematic use of secret rebates, special discounts, threats, and other means used by Intel to lock AMD processors out of the global market. Since the start of this action, The Court has issued subpoenas to major computer manufacturers including Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP and Toshiba.

Events and publications

Although AMD has frequently stated the inability of providing information about upcoming products and plans, AMD holds Technology Analyst Days (which often shorten as simply "Analyst Day") annually or semi-annually to reveal and explain key future technologies, as well as official technology roadmaps. While the event held in mid-year is named as "Technology Analyst Day" with main focus on upcoming technologies and trends [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/InvestorRelations/0,,51_306_15086,00.html AMD Technology Analyst Day 2007 page] , retrieved December 14, 2007] and the end-of-year event is named "Financial Analyst Day" and focused on the financial performance of the company during the previous quarters of the year [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/InvestorRelations/0,,51_306_15401,00.html?redir=IRAD01 AMD Financial Analyst Day 2007 page] , retrieved December 14, 2007]

AMD also publishes printed media. Publications include the AMD Accelerate and the discontinued AMDEdge. The AMD Accelerate magazine, published through Ziff Davis Media, puts focus on SME and business applications while AMD Edge focused on overall technologies from AMD. After Ziff Davis Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the AMD Accelerate magazine is published through IDG. AMD also has electronic newsletters to promote server Opteron processors and related business solutions.

See also

* Intel Corporation
* x86 architecture
* ATI Technologies
* NexGen
* Nvidia
* Spansion
* AMD FireStream
* Imageon
* Xilleon
* 3DNow!
* Cool'n'Quiet
* PowerNow!
* Torrenza
* HyperTransport
* List of AMD microprocessors
* List of AMD CPU slots and sockets
* List of AMD CPU microarchitectures
* List of AMD Athlon microprocessors
* List of AMD Athlon XP microprocessors
* List of AMD Athlon 64 microprocessors
* List of AMD Athlon X2 microprocessors
* List of AMD Phenom microprocessors
* List of AMD Duron microprocessors
* List of AMD Opteron microprocessors
* List of AMD Sempron microprocessors
* List of AMD Turion microprocessors
* Comparison of AMD Chipsets
* Comparison of ATI graphics processing units
* Comparison of ATI Chipsets
* Comparison of AMD Processors

References

* [http://www.digital-daily.com/editorial/amd-history/index.htm AMD: 30 Years of Pursuing the Leader]
* [http://www.cpu-collection.de/?l0=co&l1=AMD Cpu-collection.de AMD processor images and descriptions]
* [http://www.dvhardware.net/article4650.html AMD goes dual-core]
* [http://www.geek.com/why-amd-mhz-dont-equal-intel-mhz/ Why AMD-MHz don't equal Intel-MHz]
* [http://seekingalpha.com/transcripts/for/amd AMD's most recent conference call transcripts]
* [http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34781 A look at AMD's manufacturing process technologies]

External links

* [http://www.amd.com/ AMD Corporate Website]
* [http://www.amdlive.com/ AMD Live!]
* [http://developer.amd.com/ AMD Developer Central]
*HSW|1133-how-amd-processors-work-video|How AMD Processors Work

Finance links
name = Advanced Micro Devices
symbol = AMD
sec_cik = 2488
hoovers = 10037
* [http://www.amdcompare.com/prodoutlook/ Near term AMD interactive product outlook]
* [http://enterprise.amd.com/Enterprise/serverVirtualization.aspx AMD Powerpoint documents on the specification]
* [http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1780606,00.asp AMD Previews 'Pacifica' Virtualization Technology]
* [http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1644414,00.asp AMD Preps 'Pacifica' Virtualization Technology]