Intel's 12-inch Albuquerque fab showing big yields

SOURCES SAY THAT the Intel fab at Rio Rancho, in Albuquerque, is already delivering yields of 88 per cent on the 12-inch (300mm) process it's developing there.

The 12-inch process goes live this summer and although Intel's had a freeze on recruitment at Rio Rancho - which we visited some years ago - that is set to end when the 300mm line opens for business.

Twelve inch wafers obviously produce more CPUs than eight inch wafers, but Intel is coupling its move to the larger disks along with new process techniques, which will yield even more CPUs that are expected to run cooler and faster, when the new process is online.

And there's an added bonus for the residents of Albuquerque. There have been complaints from the local residents that Intel's fab has been draining too much water from the aquifer thereabouts.

But Intel is predicting that because the 12-inch wafers will use 40 per cent less water, there will be more, purified water returned into the eco-system. µ

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