Semiconductor fabrication plant

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
Typically an advance in chip-making technology requires a completely new fab to be built. In the past, the equipment to outfit a fab was not very expensive and there were a huge number of smaller fabs producing chips in small quantities. However, the cost of the most up-to-date equipment has since grown to the point where a new fab can cost several billion dollars.
Another side effect of the cost has been the challenge to make use of older fabs. For many companies these older fabs are useful for producing designs for unique markets, such as <a href="/facts/Embedded_processor/a4muX1wU">embedded processors</a>, <a href="/facts/Flash_memory/Cn8JsStx">flash memory</a>, and <a href="/facts/Microcontroller/MKrnAhnm">microcontrollers</a>. However, for companies with more limited product lines, it is often best to either rent out the fab, or close it entirely. This is due to the tendency of the cost of upgrading an existing fab to produce devices requiring newer technology to exceed the cost of a completely new fab.
There has been a trend to produce ever larger <a href="/facts/Wafer_(electronics)/lCBJAoUL">wafers</a>, so each process step is being performed on more and more chips at once. The goal is to spread production costs (chemicals, fab time) over a larger number of saleable chips. It is impossible (or at least impracticable) to retrofit machinery to handle larger wafers. This is not to say that foundries using smaller wafers are necessarily obsolete; older foundries can be cheaper to operate, have higher yields for simple chips and still be productive.
The industry was aiming to move from the state-of-the-art wafer size 300 mm (12 in) to 450 mm by 2018.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> In March 2014, <a href="/facts/Intel/SMF0gJJX">Intel</a> expected 450 mm deployment by 2020.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> But in 2016, corresponding joint research efforts were stopped.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a>
Additionally, there is a large push to completely automate the production of semiconductor chips from beginning to end. This is often referred to as the "<a href="/facts/Lights_out_(manufacturing)/GEr3ohLq">lights-out fab</a>" concept.
The International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI), an extension of the US consortium <a href="/facts/SEMATECH/UMqCy3TL">SEMATECH</a>, is sponsoring the "300 mm Prime" initiative. An important goal of this initiative is to enable fabs to produce greater quantities of smaller chips as a response to shorter lifecycles seen in consumer electronics. The logic is that such a fab can produce smaller lots more easily and can efficiently switch its production to supply chips for a variety of new electronic devices. Another important goal is to reduce the waiting time between processing steps.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Foundry_model/np3nUASu">Foundry model</a> for the business aspects of foundries and fabless companies</li>
<li><a href="/facts/List_of_semiconductor_fabrication_plants/USDWuwzL">List of semiconductor fabrication plants</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Rock%27s_law/3LA9xoGm">Rock's law</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Semiconductor_consolidation/WAAbUVHT">Semiconductor consolidation</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Semiconductor_device_fabrication/Jd23Mu1z">Semiconductor device fabrication</a> for the process of manufacturing devices</li></ul>
<h2 id="notes">Notes</h2>

<ul><li>Handbook of Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Second Edition by Robert Doering and Yoshio Nishi (Hardcover – Jul 9, 2007)</li>
<li>Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology by Michael Quirk and Julian Serda (paperback – Nov 19, 2000)</li>
<li>Fundamentals of Semiconductor Manufacturing and Process Control by Gary S. May and Costas J. Spanos (hardcover – May 22, 2006)</li>
<li>The Essential Guide to Semiconductors (Essential Guide Series) by Jim Turley (paperback – Dec 29, 2002)</li>
<li>Semiconductor Manufacturing Handbook (McGraw–Hill Handbooks) by Hwaiyu Geng (hardcover – April 27, 2005)</li></ul>
<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li>"Chip Makers Watch Their Waste", <a href="/facts/The_Wall_Street_Journal/9Pkf2cYK">The Wall Street Journal</a>, July 19, 2007, p.B3</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Brown, Clair; Linden, Greg (2011). Chips and change : how crisis reshapes the semiconductor industry (1st ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262516822. <a href="9780262516822" target="_blank">9780262516822</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Begins Construction on Gigafab In Central Taiwan Archived 2012-01-29 at the Wayback Machine, issued by TSMC, 16 July 2010 <a href="http://www.tsmc.com/tsmcdotcom/PRListingNewsAction.do?action=detail&language=E&newsid=5041TSMC" target="_blank">http://www.tsmc.com/tsmcdotcom/PRListingNewsAction.do?action=detail&language=E&newsid=5041TSMC</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"TSMC says 3nm plant could cost it more than $20bn - TheINQUIRER". theinquirer.net. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2018. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171012043608/https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3018890/tsmc-says-3nm-plant-could-cost-it-more-than-usd20bn" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20171012043608/https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3018890/tsmc-says-3nm-plant-could-cost-it-more-than-usd20bn</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Mutschler, Ann Steffora (2008). "Pure-play foundries comprise 84% of market, IC Insights says". Electronics News. Australia: Reed Business Information Pty Ltd, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"SYNUS Tech". <a href="http://www.synustech.com/chn/sub_2_3.php" target="_blank">http://www.synustech.com/chn/sub_2_3.php</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">2011 Report Archived 2012-07-10 at the Wayback Machine - International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors <a href="http://www.itrs.net/Links/2011ITRS/2011Chapters/2011ExecSum.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.itrs.net/Links/2011ITRS/2011Chapters/2011ExecSum.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Intel says 450 mm will deploy later in decade". 2014-03-18. Archived from the original on 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2014-05-31. <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/business/intel-says-450mm-will-deploy-later-in-decade/59430/" target="_blank">http://blog.timesunion.com/business/intel-says-450mm-will-deploy-later-in-decade/59430/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">McGrath, Dylan. "With 450mm on Ice, 300mm Shoulders Heavier Load". Retrieved 3 January 2021. <a href="https://www.eetimes.com/with-450mm-on-ice-300mm-shoulders-heavier-load" target="_blank">https://www.eetimes.com/with-450mm-on-ice-300mm-shoulders-heavier-load</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Chip Makers Watch Their Waste <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">ISMI Press Release <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Semiconductor fabrication plant open-in-new

Semiconductor fabrication plant