Advanced Micro Devices Inc has its own research into CMOS copper technology, according to EETimes. IBM Corp agreed to become a foundry for AMD’s iAPX-86 compatible K6 processors back in March (CI No 3,358), but said at the time that the agreement related to 0.25 micron process technology, and not next-generation CMOS7S copper technology. AMD director of technology Don Wollesen told the paper that AMD had successfully fabricated two test chips with copper interconnects, but that he didn’t expect the technology to become practical until the 0.18 micron generation, which is what IBM has announced. He said AMD hadn’t yet decided whether its own 0.18 micron products would use copper.
