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
Automated robots transport wafers at an advanced production fab. Semiconductor technologies are so advanced that it's impossible to catch up without pumping in vast sums of money. Building a foundry business takes time—a single leading-edge fab can cost $10-15 billion and take more than four years to finish. Making chips is so complex and specialised that even diversifying the manufacturing location will make it more difficult to maintain quality. The transistor in a 3-nanometer (nm) node is just 1/20,000th the width of a human hair. The key component may only be silicon, but the magic happens in processing and altering it.
