The cost of building a fab has soured to a staggering $4bn, according to microchip manufacturers at the Semico Summit conference.
This is a huge difference compared to the cost of previous 300-mm, 0.13-micron wafer fabs, which were at least $1bn less only a short time ago. The new plants produce 300-mm, 0.09-micron chips and the president of TSMC North America has told SiliconStrategies.com that "The cost of a new fab is absolutely enormous ... We have reached the point where very few companies can build factories".
The era which saw the phrase "real men have fabs" coined by the chairman of AMD is coming to an end, the phrase originated when the idea of a chip maker having its own fabs was seen as the way forward. The escalating costs of fabs in the eyes of TSMC will mean "Foundries and their customers must form close collaborative partnerships". The chairman of AMD has said that "AMD will continue to have its own fabs, but foundries are the future".