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What is interesting is that microselectronics seems to have improved almost every aspect of our lives except the ability to drive down the cost of semiconductor
by lbriner 4y ago
What is interesting is that microselectronics seems to have improved almost every aspect of our lives except the ability to drive down the cost of semiconductor fab machines.
They were saying that a single wafer etching machine could cost $100M. Yes, one machine. I assume this is why people aren't jumping on the bandwagon, the initial investment is enormous. I also suspect that the people who build these machines can't simply ramp up production of something so specialised.
- xavxav 4y agoBut they have, we wouldn’t be able to design, build or operate those 100M machines without plenty of cutting edge micro-electronics at every step of the way. When you look at the details of how these machines are made, the price tag almost seems low in the end.
- bismuthcrystal 4y agoYes, stepper machines do cost hundreds of millions but then one realizes they handle more than a hundred wafers per hour. At the end the machines do seem cheap.
- philliphaydon 4y agoDown side is the cost of entry if you want to be your own fab is too much. Do not feasible for a start up.
- rr3932 4y agoA startup has many options to get chips made. But if the startup was itself a fab then it needs to think outside the box. For example smaller wafers yield less ICs, so more $/IC. But, you also don’t need a $100M stepper, which helps.
- rr3932 4y agoThere are companies working on cheaper, low volume, solutions and some things exist. For example: https://cdn.aff.yokogawa.com/9/400/details/minimal-fab-one-stop-solution.pdf https://cdn.aff.yokogawa.com/9/400/details/minimal-fab-one-s... It’s the kind of thing that if you need it, you know about it. But it doesn’t make national news because it’s not billions of dollars.