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In context: Hundreds of billions of {dollars} are being poured into chipmaking amenities throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. A big chunk of those expansions will want a gradual provide of silicon wafers, and that is the place GlobalWafers is available in. Still, all of those developments hinge on the federal government subsidies, and, at the very least within the US, regulators have but to come back to an settlement on easy methods to proceed.
The US Congress is taking its candy time with the CHIPS Act, regardless of quite a few calls from the Silicon Industry Association to unlock extra funding for tasks that carry semiconductor manufacturing again to the US. As a outcome, corporations like Intel and TSMC are struggling to remain on schedule with their growth plans.
Fortunately, an increasing number of corporations are exploring methods to carry further manufacturing capability to the US. The newest instance is GlobalWafers, which simply unveiled plans to construct a $5 billion manufacturing unit in Sherman, Texas. But identical to Intel, TSMC, GlobalFoundries, and others, this effort will want vital authorities help if it has any likelihood to materialize within the coming years.
The new manufacturing facility will likely be making silicon wafers, an important ingredient within the chipmaking course of that can be one of many bottlenecks within the world provide chain. In different phrases, the rationale why so many business insiders predict the chip scarcity might final till 2024 is that main wafer suppliers have the same timeline for opening new factories.
GlobalWafers first introduced intentions to construct a brand new manufacturing unit again in February, after failing to take over German wafer provider Siltronic. That will likely be a boon for the US semiconductor provide chain as GlobalWafers has huge ambitions with the Texas manufacturing unit.
Specifically, the corporate desires to make over 1.2 million wafers per thirty days, and crucially these will likely be 300 mm wafers of the type wanted for superior chip manufacturing on bleeding-edge course of nodes. The Texas facility is predicted to change into operational in 2025, and as soon as it achieves nominal output it ought to theoretically be capable of cowl all US demand for 300 mm wafers.
Image credit score: Samuel Faber
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