Sunday, September 18, 2022

Inside TSMC, the Taiwanese chipmaking giant that’s building a new plant in Phoenix

[CNBC, link below] Recently CNBC got an exclusive tour of the US$ 12 billion semiconductor fab, in Phoenix, Arizona, where TSMC will start making 5 nm chips in 2024. The company says it will ramp up to produce 20,000 wafers each month.

“This project is designed as a 5 nm fab. Actually, it’s a copy from the fab we have in Taiwan,” Chen said.

Nearby, one of the world’s largest cranes was lifted to its full height of 200 feet. The 2,300-ton crane was brought to the site on 153 semi trucks. Site supervisor Jim White said contractors have moved nearly 4 million cubic yards of dirt and have used more than 260 million gallons of water since construction began in April.



Building a fab and making chips takes an incredible amount of water, not an abundant resource in the middle of the desert. Arizona’s biggest water source is groundwater, but deep wells at big farms are using water up faster than it’s naturally replenished. Chen said TSMC needs around 4.7 million gallons of water each day to support production. In Arizona, TSMC said, an on-site water treatment center will recycle up to 90% of water used at the fab.

Full article with video:

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