In August 2023， Wen Q had the opportunity to represent Kuaikeji， as one of only four Chinese media outlets， to visit Intel’s packaging and testing factories and laboratories in Malaysia. He also gained an early understanding of the architectural design and technical characteristics of the new Core Ultra (Meteor Lake) processors.
(Group photo inside the Malaysian packaging and testing plant)
Recently， Wen Q visited Intel’s Fab wafer fabrication plant in Phoenix， Arizona， USA. This visit allowed him to interact closely with advanced EUV lithography machines and the 18A process production line， making up for the regret of not being able to visit the Israeli wafer plant during the pandemic.
This was also the first time this particular plant， especially the recently operational Fab 52， was opened to the media.
Let’s first understand the background of Intel’s Arizona wafer fabrication plant.
Despite Arizona being known for its vast deserts and being the fifth driest state in the US， with wafer fabrication plants being major consumers of water resources， the region experiences very few natural disasters such as earthquakes， hurricanes， and wildfires. This creates a stable operating environment for the fabrication plants.
Furthermore， Arizona boasts a robust technological ecosystem and a rich talent pool， with over 155 semiconductor companies operating within the state. Arizona State University is one of the largest universities in the US. Its proximity to Silicon Valley in California and a low tax rate (4.9%) further attract major players like Intel and TSMC to establish their manufacturing bases here.
Intel’s presence in Arizona began in 1979， with operations commencing in Chandler the following year， initially focusing on manufacturing and assembly. Over the past 46 years， Intel has invested over $50 billion in Arizona， becoming one of the largest private employers and a significant contributor to the state’s economy， establishing it as a crucial global semiconductor manufacturing hub.
The Intel Ocotillo Campus in Arizona spans approximately 2.6 square kilometers (260 hectares)， situated at the southern end of the Price Road Corridor. This area is highly sought after for industrial development within the region. Interestingly， this site was formerly a 2.8 square kilometer farm belonging to the Bogle family， which Intel acquired in the early 1990s. Large agricultural lands and residential communities are still present across the road from the campus.
The campus houses multiple wafer fabrication plants， more than any other Intel location globally:
- Fab 12: Initiated in the 1990s and operational by 2006， it was one of Intel’s most advanced manufacturing facilities at the time， currently producing 22nm， 14nm， and 10nm nodes.
- Fab 22: Construction began in 1996， with production starting in 2002， primarily for 22nm， 14nm， and 10nm nodes.
- Fab 32: Built in the early 2000s and operational in 2007， it further expanded capacity for 22nm， 14nm， and 10nm production.
- Fab 42: Construction started in 2011， was temporarily paused， and then resumed in 2017 with a $7 billion investment， becoming operational in 2020 for 10nm and Intel 3 processes.
- Fab 52/62: These facilities are part of Intel’s IDM 2.0 strategy and ongoing expansion plans， with an investment of $32 billion. Fab 52， construction of which began in 2021， has recently become fully operational and houses EUV lithography machines， poised to mass-produce the most advanced 18A process. Fab 62， construction of which began in 2024， will produce the 14A process in the future.
Each building within the campus is named using the “OCxx” format， where “xx” is a sequential number starting from 1. A notable tradition is that the Arizona fabrication plants are numbered with a “2” at the end.
Intel’s fabrication plants were initially named sequentially， from Fab 1 up to Fab 12. Subsequently， the Arizona facilities adopted the convention of ending with a “2”.
Facilities in New Mexico are numbered with a “1” (Fab 11/11X). Those in Ireland end with a “4” (Fab 14/24/34). Plants in Israel conclude with an “8” (Fab 28/38). The upcoming facility in Ohio will be numbered with a “7” (Fab 27 under construction). In Oregon， due to its focus on research and development， facilities are designated with a three-letter prefix followed by a number (e.g.， D1B/D1C/D1D/D1X/RB1/RP1).
There is one exception to this numbering convention: the NAND flash memory wafer plant in Dalian， China， was named Fab 68 for auspicious reasons. This facility has since been fully sold to SK Hynix.
The construction of a standard processor wafer fabrication plant typically takes 3-5 years or even longer， with costs ranging from at least $20 to $25 billion.
During the construction of Fab 52， over 1 million cubic meters of earth and rock were excavated， enough to fill 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Approximately 600，000 cubic meters of concrete were poured. The project utilized 75，000 tons of rebar， double the amount used in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa， the world’s tallest building. Structural steel weighing 35，000 tons was erected， five times the amount used in the Eiffel Tower. The total length of cables and pipelines laid exceeded 900 million meters， equivalent to the distance of 214 full marathons.
Intel places a strong emphasis on environmental protection， particularly in water-scarce Arizona. Significant investments have been made in water treatment and recycling systems within the plant. In collaboration with local entities， a 48，600 square meter water treatment facility has been established. The Ocotillo Brine Reduction Facility (OBRF) is designed to desalinate water before further processing. It can treat and reclaim 340，700 cubic meters of water daily， which is then returned as high-purity water for factory operations.
Currently， Intel has achieved “water-positive” status in Arizona， restoring 41.64 million cubic meters of water resources to the local area as of 2023.
