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Intel’s Rio Rancho Facility<\/span><\/p>\n Intel<\/small><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Ever since former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced in 2021 that Intel was entering the semiconductor foundry business, the focus has been on Intel\u2019s ability to compete on the most advanced semiconductor process nodes. With this came the announcement of five new process nodes in four years and new state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Ohio. To its credit, Intel delivered on the new process nodes, the most advanced being Intel 18A, which is now in volume production in Intel products at Fab 25 in Hillsboro, Oregon and Fab 52 at Intel\u2019s Ocotillo site in Chandler, Arizona. In Arizona, the sheer size of both Fab 52 and Fab 62, as well as the 700-acre site that holds four other fabs (12, 22, 32, and 42), is impressive. However, Intel is still in the early stages of working with its initial customers for both the current Intel 18A process and the forthcoming Intel 14A process. But the other side of Intel Foundry, responsible for advanced semiconductor packaging, is a completely different story.<\/p>\n One of Intel\u2019s core competencies is semiconductor manufacturing, and it has always led the industry in the research and development of new fabrication processes and packaging technology. Despite its stumbles in bringing new process nodes to market starting around 2013 with the 14nm generation, Intel never missed a beat in advanced packaging. In fact, many companies inquired about using Intel\u2019s advanced packaging capabilities when it first explored becoming a foundry as early as 2010, but Intel\u2019s management refused to consider packaging components for customers unless Intel produced the die for the products. So, when it was announced that Intel Foundry was open for advanced packaging business, the floodgates opened.<\/p>\n Intel Wafer Inspection<\/span><\/p>\n Intel<\/small><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Advanced semiconductor packaging is similar to die fabrication in some respects and different in others. Just like die fabrication, advanced packaging requires silicon manufacturing for the interposers used in 2.5D and 3D packaging; investment into new materials and equipment with each generation, even if not at the same scale; and advanced cleanroom facilities for the manufacturing processes. However, packaging also requires some customization in the process and equipment, as requirements can vary greatly by application, product specifications and even the customer.<\/p>\n Like its fabrication footprint, Intel also has advanced packaging facilities worldwide. Intel\u2019s Assembly and Test Technology Development (ATTD) is located in Chandler, Arizona, and volume manufacturing is in Oregon, Malaysia, and New Mexico. The sister facilities located in Penang, Malaysia and Rio Rancho, New Mexico, are the advanced packaging facilities responsible for most of Intel\u2019s EMIB (Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge) used for 2.5D packaging and Foveros 3D die-stacking packaging. <\/p>\n The Rio Rancho facility is unique due to its history and capabilities. The facility first opened in 1980 and eventually became one of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the world by the late-1990s\/early-2000s, only to have portions mothballed and put up for sale a little more than a decade later. The announcement of Intel Foundry in 2021 marked a pivotal shift, focusing the facility on advanced semiconductor packaging, and it is the most advanced U.S.-based integrated packaging facility. The entire facility is now being used for manufacturing and test, and the 218-acre facility has room for future expansion. Most recently, Intel began offering silicon photonics manufacturing at Rio Rancho to its external foundry customers. Rio Rancho is also likely to be not just the first Intel site, but the first site in the world for volume manufacturing of glass substrates, which is currently available only on a pilot line in Chandler.<\/p>\n<\/section>\nThe Packaging Equation<\/h2>\n
Packaging Is Key To Intel Foundry<\/h2>\n