May 15, 2001 — HILLSBORO, OR — Intel Corporation has opened what it says is the world’s first 300 mm wafer research laboratory, dedicated to advanced silicon process technologies.

The RP1 (research and pathfinding) facility contains a 56,000 square foot cleanroom, and is adjacent to Intel’s D1C development fab and Fab 20, one of its manufacturing facilities. The RP1 will be used to develop next-generation photolithography, high-performance transistor, advanced interconnects and new environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.

“Intel’s technology teams are organized to move innovations efficiently through the stages of research, pathfinding, development and manufacturing,” said Sunlin Chou, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Technology and Manufacturing Group. “By building RP1 next to D1C, Intel now has all stages of its 300 mm technology pipeline in place to drive the advancement of Moore’s Law on a larger wafer size.”

Because the facility supports 300 mm wafers, Intel engineers will be able to share wafers between research and development. Officials say that will allow the company to speed up the introduction of advanced technologies in future products.

More than 6,000 researchers and scientists worldwide are involved with Intel’s R&D division, Intel Labs.