Here we go ... Intel plans 300-mm fab in Oregon
By Jack Robertson
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Intel Corp. here has decided to go ahead with its first 300-mm, 0.13-micron-design-rule fab in Oregon, and next month will announce a 10-year, $10 billion program in the next-generation wafer size, sources said today.
Intel will launch construction this year of a 300-mm development fab that will expanded into initial production, according to the sources. Next month's announcement will cover a full-blown Intel plan to expand into multi-fab 300-mm production over the next decade.
Intel's commitment is expected to revive the chip industry's lagging 300-mm wafer interest. After Siemens Semiconductor Group and Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector launched a 300-mm pilot line in Dresden, Germany, other chip makers, including Intel, put their larger-size wafer plans on the shelf.
One major equipment firm, Applied Materials Inc., reportedly will reinstitute its own 300-mm program, based on a large order for equipment for the new Oregon fab. Along with the rest of industry, Applied froze its 300-mm program early last year when chip makers backed away from launching even pilot lines.
--Duker
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