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by sibrahim 1537 days ago
My understanding is that was the original purpose, but probably unnecessary given that all the relevant process steps are encased in tools that are not exposed to the general clean room environment in operation (they have to maintain a higher grade of clean room internally).

However, I suspect it's probably going to continue being propagated forward due to Copy Exactly which has historically meant that Intel documents and copies the smallest details in all their fabs just in case they are necessary. In the end, if it ain't broke...
1 comments
mrlonglong 1537 days ago
In short, they've cargo culted themselves. No wonder they've lost their place as makers of powerful processors.
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toss1 1536 days ago
Chesterton's Fence [0] should overrule fear of cargo culting, especially when the fence (or in this case color) was clearly put up by people who really knew what they were doing at the time.

Unless there is a significant cost to it, and unless the benefit is understood, there is no reason that they should be faulted as ignorant cargo cultists simply for keeping it in place.

[0] https://www.chesterton.org/taking-a-fence-down/

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sibrahim 1536 days ago
Right. There's not a compelling reason to switch and there's more than a hint of CYA mixed in with Chesterton's Fence:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-09/how-intel...

> For decades, Intel’s cleanrooms have been lit like darkrooms, bathed in a deep, low yellow. “That’s an anachronism,” says Mark Bohr, a small, serious man who has spent his entire 38-year career making chips, and who’s now Intel’s top manufacturing scientist. “Nobody’s had the courage to change it.”

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boondaburrah 1537 days ago
Why would you not want the additional protection if you have to pick a colour to make the room anyways?
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mrlonglong 1536 days ago
Copying everything implies they do not have full understanding of what makes for a successful process.
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speed_spread 1536 days ago
It's possible that some level of unresolved empirical "magic" be involved in the process, which does not diminish the value of the end product. Why deprive yourself of hard learned lessons even if you don't understand it all?
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