Intel plan ‘Fab 42’ – 14nm process, costing $5 billion

Intel have announced their plans to build a new semiconductor fabrication facility in Arizona. Their goals are to achieve a 14nm process which will cost around $5 billion.

This new facility is called ‘Fab 42' (Thunderbirds are go?), and will be built from the ground up to produce Intel's next generation processor range on cost effective 300mm wafers. This should help Intel counter the drop in yield from early days of development.

Other companies have been working hard to get their processes shrunk to 22nm and 28nm, so if Intel are successful in the near future it will certainly help them mend the public embarassment of Sandybridge Cougar Point issues.

Intel general manager Brian Krzanich said “The investment positions our manufacturing network for future growth, For Intel, manufacturing serves as the underpinning for our business and allows us to provide customers and consumers with leading-edge products in high volume.”

These manufacturing reductions are integral to creating more powerful processors that consume less power and generate less heat. The processes are extremely difficult however as the gaps between transistors shrink also. If this move is successful it might help Intel in the mobile sector, where they are facing increasingly stiff competition from British mobile specialist ARM.

KitGuru says: No dates are confirmed, but Intel will move as quickly as possible.

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