4 ms·

All the more reason for companies to focus on true innovation instead of milking IP licensing. All the more reason to make it profitable for fabs to exist with

All the more reason for companies to focus on true innovation instead of milking IP licensing. All the more reason to make it profitable for fabs to exist within the US.

javajosh 7y ago
>All the more reason to make it profitable for fabs to exist within the US. I'm particularly interested in this space. Anyone more familiar with it care to comment? Is there a push for more US fab capacity? Any startups? Any political push to change laws to make it more favorable to start one?
- LatteLazy 7y ago
  I can't answer your questions but may I piggy-back? What stops Fab Facilities existing in "western" countries at the moment? Someone told me a major reason for the move was because the chemicals used in top-tier facilities are basically banned in the west. Not technically banned but considered so dangerous (they're all carcinogenic) that the cost (health and safety, insurance, compensation) make them uneconomic. Is that right? Does it matter whether fab facilities are near to final manufacturing locations? Will Apple\Foxconn buy chips from a San Fran shop if they then have to be shipped to China for inclusion in the device? Since most devices are put together in SE Asia, the delay might be killer...
- DivisionSol 7y ago
  Sorry, not much to back it up other than lack of knowledge of any shared-wafer fabs in the US. From what I can tell, having a fab in the US is more a consequence of wanting to make one's own chips, not 'chips as a commodity' (foundry) business: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundry_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundry_model Additionally there is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabrication_plants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabricat... Note as a result of this comment I did some digging and it does seem like Global Foundries does do wafer-share: https://www.globalfoundries.com/design-services/multi-project-wafer-program https://www.globalfoundries.com/design-services/multi-projec...

All the more reason for companies to focus on true innovation instead of milking IP licensing. All the more reason to make it profitable for fabs to exist within the US.

javajosh 7y ago

>All the more reason to make it profitable for fabs to exist within the US. I'm particularly interested in this space. Anyone more familiar with it care to comment? Is there a push for more US fab capacity? Any startups? Any political push to change laws to make it more favorable to start one?

LatteLazy 7y ago
I can't answer your questions but may I piggy-back? What stops Fab Facilities existing in "western" countries at the moment? Someone told me a major reason for the move was because the chemicals used in top-tier facilities are basically banned in the west. Not technically banned but considered so dangerous (they're all carcinogenic) that the cost (health and safety, insurance, compensation) make them uneconomic. Is that right? Does it matter whether fab facilities are near to final manufacturing locations? Will Apple\Foxconn buy chips from a San Fran shop if they then have to be shipped to China for inclusion in the device? Since most devices are put together in SE Asia, the delay might be killer...
DivisionSol 7y ago
Sorry, not much to back it up other than lack of knowledge of any shared-wafer fabs in the US. From what I can tell, having a fab in the US is more a consequence of wanting to make one's own chips, not 'chips as a commodity' (foundry) business: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundry_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundry_model Additionally there is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabrication_plants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabricat... Note as a result of this comment I did some digging and it does seem like Global Foundries does do wafer-share: https://www.globalfoundries.com/design-services/multi-project-wafer-program https://www.globalfoundries.com/design-services/multi-projec...