Last week Intel announced that its much anticipated Fab 42 has successfully started operating. The facility started manufacturing processors using the silicon giant’s latest 10nm process technology. Fab 42 is intel’s third facility to use the company’s latest node to manufacture its new wafers. The successful operations of the new Fab will significantly increase intel’s manufacturing rate to deliver its latest products in the market.
Intel started the construction of its Fab 42 facility in 2011. At that time Intel already visioned its move to the 450mm wafers. As a result, the new facility is built to be compatible with processing 450mm wafers.
Earlier, Intel spent $7 billion on its fab 42, in order to make it equipped to manufacture chipsets using the companies 7nm process.
But the semiconductor manufacturer decided to go forth with a 10nm process chipset. If Intel’s fab 42 is actually capable of using Intel’s 7nm process for manufacturing chipset remains un-disclosed. The 7nm process relies on both the DUV and also EUV lithography, which remains hard and expensive to manufacture.
The largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world has already introduced us with 2nd generation 10nm chips like the Ice Lake, Ice Lake-SP, Elkhart Lake, and Snow Ridge. The latest edition of the 10nm family is the 3rd generation 10nm chipsets namely Tiger Lake and DG1. All these products were produced in either Israel or Oregon. The inclusion of Intel’s fab 42 in Arizona will significantly boost intel’s SoC manufacturing process.
Intel has not revealed the actual production capacity of the fab 42. But sources claim that it will be the chipmakers ‘first mega-factory’. A mega fab is reported to have a capacity to produce up to 25,000 to 100,000 silicon wafers per month.
Intel has reported having spent more than $23 billion on the new fab 42 Arizona facility. It is expected to boost the production of its Tiger Lake SoC, making the chipmaker’s processors available to meet every market demand.
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