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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (158174)	2/8/2002 4:05:03 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 186894

Intel ponders future of fab construction in Ireland By Chris Edwards EE Times UK (02/08/02 05:42 a.m. EST) Intel has suggested that it may not need to build its third, and much-delayed, Fab 24 at Leixlip in the Irish Republic as the lead 300mm production location for processors made on its forthcoming 90nm process. Bill Riley, Intel's public affairs manager for Ireland, says the company is looking hard at whether to spend $600m on building a plant such as Fab 24 and a further $2bn on chip-making equipment if the same kit can go into an existing building. Riley's comments followed those of Intel's chief financial officer, Andy Bryant, who told analysts while reporting Intel's 2001 results: "Hopefully, we will see more spending on equipment than on buildings." The company has cut its planned 2002 capital spending by about $1bn from an originally expected $6bn. Bryant claims that, with two fabs moving into 300mm production this year, the company is taking a more 'capital-efficient' approach. Intel has two fabs at Leixlip, employing 3400 people. Fab 10 was the company's first fab in Ireland and was used to build the first generation of Pentiums in 1993. Fab 14 followed in 1998 and runs a 0.18µm process. But Riley says 130nm equipment is scheduled to go into Fab 14, providing an additional site on top of the six already scheduled for 130nm production this year. "Fab 14 is 300mm-capable and it can be converted. Fab 10 can't be," he said. "Building a better fab is probably a better solution: you don't necessarily want to squeeze the equipment into an inappropriate space." Whatever tack Intel takes, Ireland remains strongly placed for 90nm volume production. Riley says more than 100 Irish engineers have already spent five months at the company's development fab in Oregon and will be there for another year and a half. "Then 90nm should be ready for production," he said. "Ireland is to be the lead volume fab for 90nm because the timing is right. A 300mm-capable fab will be ready in time. "By the back end of 2003, we will run the first 90nm wafers. Progressively, other engineers will join the development effort to proliferate the process for production in multiple fabs." Riley says the D1C, a 300mm development-scale fab in Hillsboro, Oregon, has gone into production for Pentium 4s on a 130nm process. It will be followed later this year by Fab 11x in New Mexico, a full 300mm production fab and the last named on a schedule of six 130nm-capable fabs.