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IBM opens new microchip plant

IBM Corp unveiled what was believed to be the world's most advanced chipmaking plant, promising 1,000 new jobs and a boost to the upstate economy.

The US$2.5 billion, 12,600m2 facility currently makes the prototype cutting-edge chips and was expected to reach full production by February 2003

The chips produced at the Fishkill plant, 100km north of New York City, will be the first IBM chips to be made on 300mm wafers of silicon, instead of the current 200mm wafers. More chips can be made from each of the larger wafers, improving productivity and making it more cost effective.

While companies like Intel Corp and Samsung Electronic Co already manufacture 12-inch wafers, IBM officials believe they are the first to use an automated system to mass-produce the chips.

"Technology continues to be one of our cornerstones in delivering value to our customers," said IBM president and chief executive Samuel J. Palmisano. "We are invigorating our microelectronics business and are confident we have the right formula of technology."

The plant also will be the first to mass produce circuits thinner than 0.1 micron, or 1,000 times thinner than a human hair.

The old standard was 0.25 microns, with some chips now at 0.18 microns. The thinner lines, or conduits, allow chips to run faster and use less electricity.

These technological advances will make the chips suitable for smaller devices, like cell phones and handheld computers, said Bijan Davari, IBM vice president of technology and emerging products.

The plant, which combines new technology such as copper wiring, silicon-on-insulator-based transistors and improved insulation, is part of a total dlrs 5 billion capital investment IBM launched two years ago to expand its chip-making sites around the world.

The switch to 300mm chip is expected to save IBM 30 percent more than the 200mm chip, ultimately saving billions of dollars over a period of several years, said microelectronics division general manager Michel Mayer.
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