Tuesday October 10, 10:17 am Eastern Time
IBM to Invest $5 Billion in Chip-Making
EAST FISHKILL, N.Y. (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - news), the world's largest computer maker, on Tuesday said it would spend $2.5 billion to build an advanced chip-making plant as part of a $5 billion expansion.
Through the expansion at its East Fishkill, N.Y. facilities, IBM said it expected to be the first chipmaker to mass-produce semiconductors at microscopic line-widths below 0.10 micron -- 1,000 times thinner than a human hair and far thinner than the 0.18 micron technology now used.
The new facility will combine IBM chip-making breakthroughs such as copper interconnects, which speed transistor connections. The plant is set to open in the second half of 2002 and create up to 1,000 new jobs in the area north of New York City by early 2003.
The new plant is part of IBM's total $5 billion chip-making capital investment plan, which includes expanding capacity in its existing Burlington, Vt., and Yasu, Japan, plants. It also plans to expand its Altis Semiconductor joint venture with Germany's Infineon Technologies AG (NYSE:IFX - news) located in Corbeil-Essonnes, France, as well as chip-packaging operations worldwide. |
