SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Intel Corp. today unexpectedly pulled another new $2 billion fab out of its hat -- a 0.13-micron process expansion in Rio Rancho, N.M. that is now becoming the MPU giant's first 300-mm wafer production plant.
The new greenfield fab will have 135,000 sq. ft. of cleanroom space, and will adjoin the existing Fab 11. However, it will come up from the start as a 300-mm fab, beating the new Chandler, Ariz., plant as the first 300-mm production site, said Mike Splinter, head of Intel's technology manufacturing group. Chandler will open as a 200-mm fab late next year and convert at a yet-undesignated time to 300-mm, he said.
The New Mexico expansion (so far just called Fab 11 Expansion) will make a range of Intel microprocessors, the same as at the existing facility. Although it will be launched in 2002 with 0.13-micron processing, Intel will have introduced the next-generation shrink fabrication in other fabs before that time.
As with all Intel 0.13-micron processing, the fab will also use copper interconnect for metal layers, Splinter said.
The new fab will employ up to 1,000 additional workers beyond the 5,000-person work force at the New Mexico location now.
Intel has been on a fab expansion spree ever since raising its capital investment budget this year to $7 billion. SBN has previously reported that Intel has bought additional land in Hillsboro, Ore., for expansion of its development fab complex there. The firm is also reportedly considering expansion in Israel. Major fab projects -- either new construction or extensive upgrades -- are underway at Chandler; Hudson, Mass.; and at the Colorado fab acquired from Rockwell International.
RSS
Digital
HDD roadmap:
The hard disk drive (HDD) industry finds its lifeblood in a technology roadmap. The areal density roadmap describes the number of magnetic bits per unit area on the disk platter--thereby defining the storage capacity.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Top 10 IC vendors with cash:
The world's biggest IC companies by revenue rank not only among the best in their respective industry segments but are also more likely to have huge piles of cash that can be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development
10 companies in trouble (revisited):
What follows is an updated version of 10 companies in trouble. Some companies have been removed since the last version, others remain. Still others have been added to the mix.
MIPS to go after the cellphone?:
ARM dominates the global cell phone market, and many industry observers scoff at MIPS as a viable player in mobile phone designs. But MIPS disclosed that over the next one or two years' time, there will be MIPS-based handsets shipped.
Hot technologies to watch for in 2009:
Every technologist, marketer, industry analyst and reporter on a hunt for the next big thing is bracing for the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show scheduled less than a month away.
Notable women in microelectronics
EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in microelectronics.
EE Times updates Silicon 60
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
