| From: Ivan Avery Frey via talk <talk@gtalug.org> | | The Huge Endeavor to Produce a Tiny Microchip | https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/technology/intel-chip-shortage.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkTFUbCybJUNMnqBqCgvfeh706mnL6aSOVSC4H1OQSGZSJ9EqLZbZmY5F7-QWnc-J7Ee1lQu1unKgYNlZxSgKsr9zUlM1Ye3tlpcfpU28_ms-dVLx9-zSwNSzjcrt0mrOysUncb2f6SeeIhy1aUQVjp5didVyg2mVZhfuWV74ohaQtmKspFZt4RjwfZSSVvviOCx52PNqObR20-RBhEqgCGmmVxYjAnupGJAZCClvGT2d95HI8675fO9AQO6X_K30waUiPHYqWfATJsULH1t8BHho
Interesting. As Moore's law progressed, a different law also applied: exponentially fewer cutting edge fabs. Simply put, each generation of fab got exponentially more expensive (I don't have actual cost data). It used to be that every chip vendor had its own fab. But they got exponetially more complicated and expensive and a new model developed: fabless chip vendors and merchant fabs. Example: most RISC vendors were fabless Example: AMD spun off its fab as "Global Foundaries". Example: fabs TSMC, SMIC. I don't follow this closely but Intel's fabs may be the last that are mostly producing their owners own chips. Intel has tried to be a merchant fab but I don't think that they have gotten much business. I don't know much about linear chips. Maybe the picture is different there. Intel's vertical integration used to be a plus. They would develop their next "node" (step in feature size or performance) ahead of everyone else. This seemed to be because they were willing to put more money into manufacturing each chip (because they could get it back) and also because each node was developed in parallel with the design of the chips that would use it. Perhaps six years ago their node progression stumbled and now their manufacturing is only on a par with TSMC in performance and it might be much more expensive (usually due to higher defect rates). It is very bad for the world that TSMC is almost the only game in town for cutting edge processors. Samsung is OK too. Taiwan may be the next Ukraine. There are a lot of suppliers of high-tech things needed for fabs. Many with no competitor. Some are in Europe and some are in the US. The way US governments have been throwing around sanctions, you can bet that PRC is trying to create local replacements. Our world is partitioning before our eyes. --- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk