How a Semiconductor Factory Works

June 9, 2023 Published

Discover how semiconductors come to life in some of the largest, most complex factories in the world.

In this article:

What does it take to build a fab?

An Intel semiconductor factory, or “fab,” is a manufacturing marvel. Every hour, every day, the 70-foot-tall structure produces thousands of computer chips, the most complex products on Earth and each not much bigger than a fingernail.

A typical fab includes 1,200 multimillion-dollar tools and 1,500 pieces of utility equipment. It costs about $10 billion and takes three to five years and 6,000 construction workers to complete. Three of the fab’s four levels support the clean room, the home to chip production.

An inside look at the four levels of an Intel fab

First level: Interstitial and fan deck

The fan deck houses systems that keep the air in the clean room particle-free and precisely maintained at the right temperature and humidity for production.

Second level: Clean room level

A clean room is made up of more than 1,200 factory tools that take pizza-size silicon wafers and eventually turn them into hundreds of computer chips. Clean room workers wear bunny suits to keep lint, hair and skin flakes off the wafers.
Fun fact: Clean rooms are usually lit with yellow lights. They are necessary in photolithography to prevent unwanted exposure of photoresist to light of shorter wavelengths.

Third level: Clean sub fab level

The clean sub fab contains thousands of pumps, transformers, power cabinets and other systems that support the clean room.
Large pipes called “laterals” carry gases, liquids, waste and exhaust to and from production tools. Workers don’t wear bunny suits here, but they do wear hard hats, safety glasses, gloves and shoe covers.

Fourth level: Utility level

Electrical panels that support the fab are located here, along with the “mains” — large utility pipes and ductwork that feed up to the lateral pipes in the clean sub fab. Chiller and compressor systems also are placed here. Workers who monitor the equipment on this level wear street clothes, hard hats and safety glasses.

What does it take to build a single Intel factory?

The heaviest cargo is the 50,000
kilogram chiller. That is the equivalent of
12 average-size male African elephants.

**600,000** cubic meters of concrete are poured,
plus **75,000** tons of steel reinforcement. That
is **2 time**s more than what was used to build
the Burj Khalifa in Dubai

More than **1 million** cubic meters of soil and
rock are removed. That is the equivalent of
**400** Olympic-size swimming pools.

**35,000** tons of structural steel will be
used. That is 5 times the weight of the
Eiffel Tower.

Two construction workers in yellow helmets and vests stand in front of a large panel or board. One worker points to a plan or diagram on the board. Both appear to be analyzing or discussing the display. — About **6,000** construction workers contribute
their expertise.

Isometric illustration of an industrial machine with a blue and gray design, featuring yellow hoses connected to its sides. The machine has a rectangular shape, supported by four vertical stands, with light shading indicating depth. — 9 million meters of cable is installed. That
is a distance equal to **214** full marathons.

Where are Intel’s fabs?

Intel is upgrading or expanding new fabs in Oregon, Israel, Arizona, New Mexico and Ireland. New fabs are under construction in Ohio and planned for Germany.

Summary

Semiconductor factories, or “fabs,” produce some of the most complex products on Earth.
Fabs have four levels – the interstitial and fan deck, the clean room level, the clean sub fab level and the utility level – each with its own unique functions to bring semiconductors to life.
Intel has fabs across the globe. And the company is growing its manufacturing footprint in the United States and European Union.
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