Explained: The unbelievably complex process of making semiconductor chips
The news of Foxconn-Vedanta's $19.5 billion semiconductor deal falling apart may be a temporary setback for India, striving to achieve its vision of becoming a major global hub in semiconductor manufacturing over the next decade. However, catching up with the global majors and setting up infrastructure may need more than a robust ecosystem, especially since it comes in the face of deteriorating demand for chips, particularly high-end, as the global economy contracts. Making the chips is an unbelievably complex and specialised process
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
A "First Tool-In" ceremony at the TSMC facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona, US, on December 6, 2022. Despite its dominance of chip design, America is racing to build chipmaking fabs onshore. Intel is revamping its foundry business, building two new fabs in Arizona and a pair of fabs at its Ohio megasite. Last year, TSMC unveiled its US plans, adding a second Arizona fab and investing billions to start production in 2026. In Oct 2022, Micron announced its plans to spend $20 billion to build the largest ever US semiconductor factory, a memory chip fabrication plant in New York's Onondaga County, the size of 40 football fields and create about 50,000 jobs.
