The Intel Fab 52 manufacturing plant in Arizona is now fully operational and will be the site where the chipmaker will fabricate its 18A process on US soil. First announced back in 2017, the company broke ground for the building in 2021 and was built as part of the US’ US$100 billion (~RM422 billion) investment in keeping the manufacturing of advanced chips domestic.
Some facts of Intel’s Fab 52 are as follows:
- More than one million meters of soil and rock were excavated – the equivalent of 400 Olympic-size swimming pools
- About 600,000 cubic metres of concrete was poured, plus 75,000 tons of steel reinforcement – twice as much used to build the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building
- 35,000 tons of structural steel was erected – five times the weight of the Eiffel Tower
- Nine million metres installed – a distance equal to 214 full marathons
- The 12-acre facility is an innovative partnership between Intel and the City of Chandler
o The primary purpose of the Ocotillo Brine Reduction Facility (OBRF) is to remove salt from the water before further treatment
o It has the capacity to treat and recycle nine million gallons of water per day
o The water is treated here and sent on for additional treatment – it is returned to the factory as a very clean water source
o Intel receives water from the City of Chandler, which is distributed around the site via a water distribution loop
Intel’s 18A is the chipmaker’s latest and most advanced process. Essentially a 2nm process, the die lithography encompasses the bulk of the Panther Lake lineup. Key features of the process include the combined use of RibbonFET transistors and a PowerVia backside power delivery system.
(Source: Intel)
