TSMC begins construction of new $9.3b foundry, wants to sate our constant hunger for chips
By Vlad Savov 
posted July 17th 2010 10:17AM
posted July 17th 2010 10:17AM
TSMC Begins Construction on GigafabTM In Central Taiwan
Issued by: TSMC
Issued on: 2010/07/16
Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C. – July 16, 2010 –TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today held a groundbreaking ceremony in Taichung's Central Taiwan Science Park for Fab 15, TSMC's third 12-inch (300mm) GigafabTM and an important milestone in the company's pledge to expand investment in Taiwan.
The groundbreaking ceremony was conducted by TSMC Chairman and CEO Dr. Morris Chang. "Science Parks have played a critical role in the development of Taiwan's high-tech industry. They have also provided important support to TSMC as we grew to become a leading global semiconductor company with its roots in Taiwan," Dr. Chang said. "Over the past two decades, TSMC has flourished in the Hsinchu and Tainan science parks, and our groundbreaking for Fab 15 today sets the foundation for TSMC to reach new heights."
"TSMC has worked unceasingly to improve its technology leadership, manufacturing excellence, and customer partnership to join together with our fabless and IDM customers to forge a powerful competitive force in the semiconductor industry. This groundbreaking for Fab 15 in the Central Taiwan Science Park shows our commitment to providing our customers with advanced technology and satisfying their capacity needs. And as capacity in Fab 15 grows, it will create 8,000 high-quality job opportunities, demonstrating TSMC's dedication to corporate social responsibility," Dr. Chang added.
Fab 15 will be TSMC's third GigafabTM, or fab with capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch wafers per month, and will also be TSMC's second GigafabTM equipped for 28nm technology. Construction will be divided into four phases, and total investment over the next several years is expected to exceed NT$300 billion. TSMC is scheduled to begin equipment move-in for the Phase 1 facility in June 2011, with volume production of 40nm and 28nm technology products for customers in the first quarter of 2012. More advanced process nodes will be introduced as TSMC's technology development continues to advance.
In addition, to meet strong customer demand as we build Fab 15, TSMC will continue to expand capacity at Fab 12 in Hsinchu and Fab 14 in Tainan. Combined capacity of Fab 12 and Fab 14 currently exceeds 200,000 12-inch wafers per month, and is scheduled to exceed 240,000 12-inch wafers per month by the end of this year, underscoring our commitment to providing steadfast support to our customers.
Fab 15 will be TSMC's next "green fab" following Fab 12 and Fab 14, incorporating green concepts in energy conservation and pollution control in its design, including a process water conservation rate of 85%, reclamation of rainwater, recirculation and reuse of general exhaust heat, and development of solar power generation and LED lighting applications. TSMC's goal is to reach zero emissions of greenhouse gases.
Fab 15 Background Information
- Total area of site: 18.4 hectares
- Type of project: TSMC's third 12-inch GigafabTM with two fab buildings and one office building.
- Building area: 430,000 square meters
- Clean room area: 104,000 square meters (approximately 14 soccer fields)
Is that a room lined with.... Gold?
that would be my next home.
@potretr Even that would cost less than $10bn though right?!
@SolidSnake Room has to be light with yellow light bulbs.
My dad used to work in a wafer fab until they shut it down and sent it to China, yay for outsourcing...
@SolidSnake
When the equipment costs $10 billion, the difference between using aluminum and gold becomes very small.
@pb300
the room is lit yellow because there must be no uncontrolled uv light seeping in, as the photoresist mask decays in the presence of uv light.
@SolidSnake: It's a home that would make a middle-eastern sheikh blush! ;-)
@XCMeathead
This is the most expensive Halo 3 Forge session ever!
lol Foundry.
@SolidSnake More importantly it looks like there's a person on a mobility scooter using a computer surrounded by a warning strip on the floor...........
@fpad77 "beware of this person"
@pb300
I don't think TSMC ever had fabs outside of Taiwan...
@SolidSnake Conducts well, no?
Their new slogan should be "TSMC-Bet you can't process on just one!"
@zomgbbqftw He worked for Harris semiconductor. They did mostly government contracts for radio chips.
@SolidSnake and are those giant iphone doors ? :-X
and to think that silicon chips will be replaced by graphite in a few years.....
@satish Actually, those are iPhone doors which is why the entire process is automated these days. If a human touches anything, the entire facility just stops working.
Just imagine how much it'll cost to catch all the Fish.
@d0mth0ma5
First I was like... huh?
Then I lolled.
@d0mth0ma5
I don't get it, plz explain :(?
@TheCake You must be at least this British to ride this joke.
@TheCake my guess, apparently wafer's are a common type of fish food, aand i hope i can stop there.
@d0mth0ma5
The entire world except England = what ?
@looselycoupled in the title "our constant hunger for chips"... fish and chips.. hence where d0mth0ma5 comes in with "insert joke here"!
Good times.
All this talk about ships and wafers is making me hungry.
@TheJake I meant chips. Not ships. Silly me >.>
@TheJake Why don't you take one of those wafer boats in the picture?
/fab humor
Does the gigafab need a gigawatt of power? Maybe it'll need 1.21 gigawatts to compensate for mechanical inefficiencies of the robots.
@10nisman94 Only way you'll get that kind of power is through a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately, we don't know when or where they'll strike
The work that goes into making a chip at a fab is absolutely amazing. One of the coolest things humans have ever done. Every techie should be aware of where their devices come from and how people like Jan Czochralski made it possible:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czochralski_process
isn't this intel's fabs? lol
@remote : No. Intel neither uses outside foundries nor provides foundry services.
@radarskiy
i was actually talking about the photo, sorry for mistype.
@remote Its one of Micron's fabs. F2 in Lehi, Utah. Aslo kwon as IMFT, its a joint venture between Micron and Intel.
@lucas993 That photo is from a press release from last year.
could you imagine the planning that goes into making one of these things? It must be a very impressive undertaking. The power requirements, the clean room facilities, the backup power for the raptor fences...
@nickyP
They don't build raptor fences anymore. Raptors are too smart.
@uclatommy
Clearly, by smart, you meant clever.
Wow, Taiwan has money.
They might be years ahead of us in technology, but they'll have to come to us if they want a photo properly white balanced.
@Ethan
yeah, keep hanging on that
@Ethan That photo is an AMERICAN fab. It's Micron's F2 in Lehi, Ut which is more commonly know as IMFT, a joint veture between Micron and Intel. Micron process, R&D, Intel's cash for a part of the equipment costs.
That photo is from a press release from last year.
I remember a time when fabs like this (well not quite as complex) would have all been built in the US... this was a time when we actually gave a rats ass about stuff like jobs and trade deficits and being a technological leader. But that was many decades ago and now all we care about is saving 1/2 penny or two on the cost of this component and that for our precious devices.
@Hazdaz
GF is in the middle of building a more complex, yet considerably smaller facility in New York. They already own one of similar complexity in Dresden.
Hell, TSMC could have just bought AMDs fabs, along with Chartered, for less than what it's costing them to build this new one.
@Hazdaz The free market decided to go with Taiwan and what the free market wants it gets. Thanks Reagan.
@Hazdaz I somewhat agree with your point, but the dynamics are not that simple. Sure "cheaper" drives a lot of decisions, but what's going on right now in the semiconductor biz is that most companies, especially new ones, can't afford to build ANY fab, especially if it's going to be obsolete in few years. That's where foundries come in. By serving lots of semiconductor vendors, a foundry can afford to make that investment.
The part that I agree with you about, is that since these factories are so automated anyway, I don't see why a TSMC equivalent can't exist in the US. Intel still uses US fabs, so it can done.
@Hazdaz True that. US needs to get back it's pride and it's jobs!
How about some tax cuts?? It's about F-ING TIME!
@BigD145
There is no such thing as a "free market," so I truly hope that you don't buy into that nonsense... but you are right about bringing up Reagan.
That bastard did more long-term harm to the US than any war, cold or otherwise, could possibly have done. We can thank him for our crushing deficits, crumpling infrastructure and trade imbalances that are only now being looked at. Some of us have been throwing up red flags over this crap for many years but everyone was too business to bother.
@DrScope
Taxcuts? Taxcuts for what? Corporate America already pays some of the lowest taxes of any country on the planet when you look at ACTUAL taxes paid (you know, with all the typical creative accounting that exists). The last thing we need is to give these guys tax cuts.
Tax INCENTIVES on the other hand, I am all for.... Tell companies that they can save $X if you build that factory here. Or help American companies get back into the game when it comes to technologies that they have fallen woefully behind in by spending money on R&D that is shared with government and business.
@Hazdaz
Exactly. INCENTIVES, not one sided corporate handouts. Simply spelled out: You do something that's economically (only long term need apply) beneficial for the country and it's citizens, and we'll give you a break.
@Hazdaz We do have fabs and new fabs being built in the U.S. Doesn't mean that you should expect other people in other places not to build cool stuff too. New York state is getting a new $2.5 billion 28nm fab in East Fishkill and there's plenty of fabs elsewhere in the country.