英特尔将成下一个晶圆代工大鳄?

发布时间:2010-11-10 10:25    发布者:李宽
关键词: 代工
英特尔(Intel)在日前宣布,将以22纳米及以下制程技术,为新创公司Achronix生产FPGA产品;而有消息来源指出,英特尔似乎有意跨足晶圆代工业务。

根据Achronix的高层表示,与英特尔之间的合作协议不只将协助该公司比XilinxAltera等同业,更快推出22纳米制程FPGA组件,也让这家业界新秀有机会跃进15纳米以下制程节点。而英特尔数年来虽有涉猎晶圆代工与ASIC市场,但几年前已经退出ASIC业务,也没考虑过成为晶圆代工业者。

但现在,有诸多迹象显示英特尔重燃对晶圆代工业务的兴趣,据业界消息指出,该公司新聘雇了一位副总裁执掌晶圆厂,也有不少公司向英特尔接洽代工事宜;与Achronix的合作可能是试金石,也可能是英特尔准备大动作开拓新业务的起步。市场传言,另一家新创FPGA公司 SiliconBlue也已经与英特尔接洽代工业务。

究竟英特尔是否会加入晶圆代工市场,成为GlobalFoundries、三星(Samsung)、台积电(TSMC)、联电(UMC)的竞争对手?还是该公司不过浅尝即止?以下是产业专家的不同看法:

EETimes 欧洲新闻总监Peter Clarke表示:“我认为英特尔会跨足晶圆代工市场,IDM厂商自给自足的时代已经结束了,如果你是一家芯片制造商,就会需要大量产能,而且现在还有一大群无晶圆厂IC业者需要制造产能。”他指出,三星已经“撩落去”,英特尔则是在试水温。

Clarke认为,英特尔当然不可能变成台积电那样的纯晶圆代工厂,但会跟随IBM、三星等同业的晶圆代工业务模式;台积电仍会是纯晶圆代工厂中的龙头老大,但英特尔可能会透过与策略伙伴合作的形式,在先进制程领域成为程咬金。

Gartner分析师Dean Freeman则认为,英特尔有机会跨足无线芯片或是FPGA的晶圆代工业务;以该公司的财力,当然能投入晶圆代工市场,但问题是在成本上是否能与台积电、联电与GlobalFoundries等厂商竞争。

VLSI Research执行长G. Dan Hutcheson则表示,英特尔看来是在试水温,一旦不成功就可以马上收手;而宣布为新创FPGA公司提供22纳米制程技术,意味着英特尔很在意成功与否,而且比以往都认真。他认为,英特尔涉足晶圆代工市场是合理的,因为一家公司想取得核心业务以外的成长,利用专长是最好的做法,而英特尔的强项就是处理器与制程技术。

EETimes美国版半导体市场编辑Mark LaPedus认为:“显然,英特尔不会为AMD、Broadcon、Nvidia与Qualcomm等竞争对手代工芯片,但一些新创公司或是非竞争厂商,可能会有兴趣与英特尔做生意,特别是基频处理器与FPGA供货商。”

LaPedus 指出,在其他晶圆代工业者据传在40纳米与28纳米高阶制程、以及high-k/metal-gate制程遭遇瓶颈时,英特尔已经成功量产两代high- k制程;如果晶圆代工厂商无法及时突破障碍,说不定Altera与Xilinx等真的会与英特尔接洽。只不过,晶圆代工业务不只是生产组件而已,基本上是个服务业;英特尔是否能成功经营处理器专长以外的业务是个问题。

另一位EETimes美国版编辑Dylan McGrath认为,英特尔应该没有成为晶圆代工大厂的企图心;该公司有令人称羡的制程技术,但都是为了供应内部所需。也许英特尔只是浅尝晶圆代工业务,而且在市场需求暴增时,其客户(如Achronix)的订单可能就会被排在后面,就像其他也涉足晶圆代工市场的IDM厂做法。

McGrath指出,英特尔与Achronix的合作,也许有一部分动机是测试涉足晶圆代工市场的可能性,但更显示该公司对可程序化逻辑技术的兴趣,特别是Achronix的异步逻辑(asynchronous logic)技术。
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步从容 发表于 2010-11-10 11:12:42
Will Intel be a big foundry player?

11/5/2010 2:33 PM EDT
SAN JOSE, Calif. – As reported, Intel Corp. this week took a step into the foundry business. Intel will lend its semiconductor process technology muscle to build FPGAs for programmable logic startup Achronix Semiconductor Corp. at 22-nm and beyond under the terms of a strategic agreement between the two companies announced Monday (Nov. 1).  

Executives from Achronix (San Jose, Calif.) said the deal would not only help the company bring 22-nm FPGAs to market faster than programmable logic market leaders Xilinx Inc. and Altera Corp., but also give the startup a leg up in 15-nm and future technology nodes.  

For years, Intel has dabbled in the foundry and ASIC markets.  But the chip giant exited the ASIC business some years ago and has never been thought as a foundry player.

Now, there are signs that Intel is interested in the foundry business. It has reportedly hired a vice president in charge of foundry. Companies are approaching Intel about access to its fabs.  Perhaps Achronix is a guinea pig and the start of something big. Rumors are running rampant that FPGA startup SiliconBlue has approached Intel.

The question is will Intel become a foundry player or not? Will it challenge GlobalFoundries, Samsung, TSMC, UMC and others? Or will it just dabble in the arena?

Here’s some opinions from around the industry:

Peter Clarke, European news director at EE Times, said: "I think Intel will get involved in the foundry market. I think the days of the self-sufficient IDM are over. If you are a chip maker, you need volume—and there are plenty of fabless companies out there who will buy a piece of your manufacturing output. We see that Samsung has thrown its hat in the ring, and now Intel is dipping its toe. Intel of course will never be a pure-play foundry like TSMC, but it will be a chip maker that does foundry work like IBM, Samsung and others. TSMC will remain the leading pure-play foundry, but Intel can throw a wrench in the works by doing leading-edge processes for companies it see as strategic partners."

Dean Freeman, an analyst with Gartner Inc., said: ''Will Intel become a big foundry player? On the wireless or (FPGA) side, they have the potential of being a foundry player. Does Intel have the capital and manufacturing to be in the foundry business? Yes. But the question is can they compete at the same cost as TSMC, UMC and GlobalFoundries.’’

G. Dan Hutcheson, chief executive and chairman of VLSI Research Inc., said: ''Given the fact that Intel did not formally announce an entry into to foundry business, but instead disclosed as an arrangement with a fabless company, indicates that Intel is testing the waters, not plunging into them. Not formally announcing an entry into the foundry business means they can easily retreat if it doesn’t work. Intel is not a company that burns the ships when it arrives in a new world. So the risk is low and they will learn a lot. At the same time, releasing their 22-nm process to an outsider means Intel is very serious about winning – more serious than they have ever been. Does it make sense? The short answer is yes. Growth outside a core market is best done by utilizing core strengths. For Intel, this is processors and process. There is no reason to constrain themselves to PC processors. But this means they must move towards embedded processors. Pushing them in this direction is the fact that systems in embedded designs continue to look more like PCs, while applications for classical PCs are not outgrowing the market. Processors are integrating more, rather than just getting bigger, making them look more like an embedded device going forward.''

Mark LaPedus, semiconductor editor of EE Times, said: ''Clearly, Intel won’t fab parts for its competitors, such as AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia, Qualcomm and others. But there are some startups or non-competitive companies that may be interested in doing business at Intel, especially in baseband processors and FPGAs-and for good reason. The foundries, namely TSMC, fumbled the ball at the 40-nm node and struggled with the process. Wait until we get to the 28-nm node and beyond. I hear the foundries are struggling to ramp with good yields. And despite the denials, I hear the foundries are struggling with their high-k/metal-gate technologies. Intel has successfully put two generations of high-k in production.  Here’s one prediction: If the foundries fail to deliver high-k in time, watch out! Look for Altera, Xilinx and others to call on Intel. But there is more to the foundry business than just churning out parts. There is a service and IP mind-set. It’s really a service business, which is a whole new mind-set.  Intel’s focus is processors. Beyond processors, the chip giant has never really found much success. We see that Intel is re-entering the wireless chip space with the acquisition of Infineon’s wireless business. I see Intel flopping in wireless again. I see Intel making a strong push in the foundry business. I see modest success for them. But TSMC CEO Morris Chang must keep a close eye on GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and now Intel.''

Dylan McGrath, editor of EETimes.com, said: "I don't believe Intel has the willingness, desire or intention to become a significant foundry player. Intel's manufacturing technology is the envy at all, but it is dedicated to Intel. The company has the capacity it needs to build parts for its business, and it's not going to sacrifice its position there to dedicate its lines to other companies. Intel may be dabbling in foundry work, but in the face of a sharp upturn in business, foundry customers (including Achronix) will see their orders take a back seat to demand for Intel products, just as we have seen with other IDMs who dabbled in foundry in the past. This deal may be partly about Intel trying its hand in foundry and experimenting with the possibilities, but in my view it has more to do with getting its feet wet with programmable logic technology—specifically Achronix' asynchronous logic technology."

Bryan Lewis, an analyst with Gartner, said the foundry alliance between Intel and Achronix ''surprised me. Intel wants to experiment with FPGA products in the fab.’’

Rob Lineback, an analyst with IC Insights, said: ''My main thought is that returns on investment in the foundry business are no where close enough to Intel's profit margins to make much sense for the company to be pursuing contract wafer manufacturing.  Other IDMs are involved in foundry manufacturing, partly to fill wafer fabs, but that shouldn't be an issue at Intel.  The only thing that makes sense is that Intel would have something else at stake, such as wanting to gain access to technology or an investment in the company it's producing products for."   

Rick Merritt, editor-at-large for EE Times, said: ''This will be a big question for the company to wrestle with. On one hand, it has a very independent culture and an entrenched ‘copy exact’ methodology and little experience in chip-level customers. On the other hand, it is the single largest owner of fabs in an increasingly fabless and fab lite industry. And it has a long history of willingness to try new things. This would seem to set the stage for a great internal conflict within the soul of an industry bellwether.’’

Gus Richard, an analyst with Piper Jaffray & Co., said: ''We believe over the next couple of years a critical shortage of chips is going to develop. We are becoming increasingly aware of technology hurtles in leading edge logic, DRAM, and flash that will limit supply growth. We see evidence of OEMs striking long-term partnerships with chip makers and companies are approaching Intel for foundry services, not the other way around.’’
步从容 发表于 2010-11-10 11:15:54
Intel Dalian’s Fab started production in due form, the total investment is USD 2.5 B.

This fab was started construction from September of 2007, and at that time Intel announced this fab will use 90nm technology, but now the capability already upgraded to 65 nm. Recently more than 20 new venders put the site in Dalian for business. More than 80 enterprises located in Dalian became Intel’s providers.

英特尔大连工厂正式投产 投资额25亿美元

10月26日,英特尔大连芯片厂正式投产。大连芯片厂是英特尔自1992年在爱尔兰建立厂后,新建的第一座芯片厂,也是英特尔在亚洲的第一个芯片制造工厂。新工厂将采用65纳米制程技术,生产芯片组产品,支持从笔记本电脑、台式机等各种领先产品。

英特尔大连芯片厂投资总额为25亿美元,于2007年9月动工。过去3年时间里,英特尔将在大连工厂采用什么技术一直备受外界关注。最初,英特尔大连工厂宣布采用90纳米制程技术,这是因为美国政府对半导体技术出口的限制所致,随着政策的放宽,英特尔大连工厂后来将技术提升到65纳米制程。

“我们在中国看到了包括三网融合、物联网在内的越来越多的机会,我们要和中国合作伙伴一同来开发这些新产品,要保持我们的灵活性,大连工厂将在这个过程当中起到非常重要的作用。”英特尔中国区总裁杨叙向《财经》记者表示。

英特尔方面透露,目前已有20多家新供应商落户大连,与英特尔开展业务。此外,还有80多家大连企业成为英特尔的供应商。
步从容 发表于 2010-11-10 11:16:56
英特尔大连芯片厂总经理柯必杰:无二期投资规划

历经三年的建设,英特尔26日宣布其在亚洲的第一个晶圆制造设施—英特尔大连芯片厂(Fab 68)正式投入运营。英特尔大连芯片厂总经理柯必杰表示,将来芯片厂希望都由本地员工管理运营。

对于大连芯片厂是否有二期三期投资计划,柯必杰称目前65纳米生产线刚刚起步,长期而言肯定会有接下来的投资,但是否有关于二期三期投资尚未有具体规划。

柯必杰表示,晶圆厂是世界上最为复杂的工厂,大连芯片厂的建成归功于1500名员工的大量付出,归功于大连市政府等部门以及英特尔供应商的大力支持。初期大连芯片厂将首先采用65纳米技术,这是一个相当重要的 技术,将在未来相当长的时间内采用这个技术。柯必杰表示,目前最主要的工作是投产运营。

制造如此复杂芯片厂,对于员工的要求也相当高。柯必杰指出,对于不同员工的有不同的方式来培训,如生产工间的工人需要一年时间达到要求,而且一年时间只是掌握一个工具。更为复杂的职位,如量率和工艺整合师,一个大学生成为一个合格的量率和工艺整合师,则需要四到五年的时间,所以在培训方面的投资是个长期过程。

柯必杰称,目前大连芯片厂起步阶段的员工数量是1500名,这些员工中绝大多数是本土员工,200多名是国外员工,这些国外员工是帮助建造工厂的,一些人已经回到美国,更多是本土员工来做,大连芯片厂的最终目标 是的运营和管理都是本地员工来完成。在这方面和以色列爱尔兰的工厂一样,都是有本地员工来完成,是有同样的期待。
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