[SunkenCiv]

On 1,100 acres in the Arizona desert north of Phoenix, a newly completed 3.5-million-square foot building is making history as the most advanced chip fabrication plant on U.S. soil. It's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's first of three Arizona fabs, which will total a $65 billion investment when they're complete at the end of the decade. Apple has committed to being the site's largest customer. Full production has been delayed until 2025, but pilot production has begun. CNBC got an exclusive first look at the fab, where TSMC chairman Rick Cassidy says the project is "dang near back on the original schedule."

TSMC's New Arizona Fab! Apple Will Finally Make Advanced Chips In The U.S. | 16:25
CNBC | 3.73M subscribers | 1,557,665 views | December 13, 2024

[Tai_Chung]

I would have thought the US Military would be the largest customer.

I thought the whole point of building the plant is to not have to import our chips from Taiwan during a war with China.

[Brian Griffin]

“$20 billion....20,000 wafers per month”

A million dollars to produce a wafer per month.

[Nateman]

Hydrofluoric acid. You get that by having to destroy freon by heat. Freon is one of the many chemicals needed to make a Semiconductor. For the imaginary problem of fluorocarbon pollution you create a truly dangerous chemical which itself must be destroyed. A Fab is actually a pretty scary place to work inside considering the dangerous chemicals used.

[Nateman]

The width of a Silicon atom is about .2 nanometers (nm). A 4 nm chip means 20 atoms thick. Chip making is basically at the bottom by this point.

[bigbob]

Waal Hot Durn!

[The Duke]

This should be secondary to bringing back pharmaceutical production.

[linMcHlp]

BTTT

[RitchieAprile]

‘Dang near’ - is that project management terminology?

[RoosterRedux]

Bfl

[Reeses]

in the Arizona desert north of Phoenix

Arizona is quickly being Californicated. For success, TSMC Arizona needs the freedom to operate on war time rules, or at least Taiwan employment rules, and be able to hire engineers based on merit again, which in practice means 90% German White, German Jew, and East Asian men. They might need to set up a 2 year accelerated engineering school so they don't end up with Intel's laid off H1B staff.

[jonrick46]

"TSMC plans to start production at its third Arizona fab, which Cassidy said is “probably going to be 2 nanometer and more advanced.”"

Two nanometer etchings is as small as it gets. You can get huge content on a chip with two mµ (2/1,000,000,000 metres). The air has to be perfectly filtered in the fabrication room. Fabrication takes lots of electricity and water.

[Psalm 73]

Spent a couple of years working in a micro-chip clean room, (between my two stints in aviation).

Odd environment - nose bled from ultra-low humidity first few weeks. And eerily quiet, mainly just the hushed sound of the air handlers.

Did not like it at all, but would do almost anything for a paycheck....