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Follow UsSAN JOSE: Amidst an upswing in the marketplace, Texas Instruments Inc. is intensifying its 300-mm analog fab.
As reported, TI (Dallas) preceding year opened a 300-mm analog semiconductor fab in Richardson, Texas. TI's new analog facility, dubbed RFAB, will be the initial analog chip fab to make use of 300-mm wafers. TI had previously moved to equip the fab by acquiring $172.5 million worth of chip production gear from Qimonda AG's fab in Sandston.
During the 3rd quarter of 2009, TI announced the ''phase I'' opening of RFAB, and at once began to move in equipment. Currently, the company is growing its manufacturing capability with the latest acquisition of over 100 new fab tools. This is the first step in introduction of the ''phase II'' development of RFAB.
On completion, ''phase II'' of RFAB will have two times the analog manufacturing capability in the facility, bringing its revenue ability to about $2 billion.
Phase I and II mutually will fill up only two-thirds of the 1.1 million square foot facility, leaving extra room for upcoming expansion. Gregg Lowe, TI senior vice president, in a statement said, "With Phase I moving ahead well and on track to commence shipments by the end of the year, this phase II development will give us a head start in providing our customers admission to important analog capacity to fuel their growth,".
The fab would manufacture analog integrated circuits which are based on TI's proprietary procedure. Customers would make use of these chips in electronics which range from Smartphones and netbooks to telecom and computing systems.
Most recently in the series of analog manufacturing expansions is Phase II of RFAB is by TI over the past 24 months. During early 2009, TI opened Clark, an 800,000-square-foot assembly and test facility in the Philippines, which rapidly ramped manufacture with the newest packaging technologies.
During 2008, TI redeployed over 150 tools from an underutilized wafer fab in Dallas to strengthen capability in other analog fabs internationally.