Intel opens first high-volume 300mm fab

In what is expected to lower its chip-manufacturing costs, Intel Corporation have announced the grand opening of its first, high-volume 300mm fab. Located in Rio Rancho, N.M., USA, Intel's new Fab 11X plant is a $2 billion fab that was originally announced back in 2000. The 11X fab will produce 0.13-micron chips on 300mm substrates. Fab 11X is more than 1-million-square-feet in size, with 200,000-square-feet of cleanroom space. "This expansion is the embodiment of our long-held belief that especially in the face of challenging economic times we must continue to invest in new products and manufacturing," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and chief operating officer, in a statement. "The combination of the 300mm wafers and 90-nanometer process technology will also reduce the costs of manufacturing, increase productivity and improve the availability of the world's most advanced semiconductor products," he said.