Intel Fab 34 completes installation and commissioning of EUV equipment
Intel has heralded the successful installation and calibration of the EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography machine at its Fab 34 wafer facility located in Ireland. The establishment is now operational and primed to commence mass production of the Intel 4 process.
In a grand ceremony scheduled for tomorrow, the 29th of September, Intel will mark the onset of mass production for the Intel 4 process. An illustrious gathering, including Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger, General Manager of Technology Development Ann Kelleher, and Chief Global Operations Officer Keyvan Esfarjani, will grace the occasion. Intel will elucidate how the EUV technology underpins its manufacturing and delivery processes, poised to spearhead its avant-garde products, ranging from processors driving Artificial Intelligence (AI) to personal computing devices and diverse chips employed by the world’s most expansive data centers.
Fab 34 this month reached an important milestone in the Intel 4 journey when it began running its First Full Loop silicon.
Last April witnessed the Fab 34 wafer plant achieving the milestone of installing its maiden EUV lithography machine, a first for any European wafer facility. Over a hundred engineers from ASML collaborated on-site at Fab 34, supplemented by Intel engineers dispatched from the United States, charged with enlightening the Fab 34 staff on the nuances of operating the EUV lithography apparatus. Intel had previously placed multiple orders with ASML for the EUV lithography machines, with the inaugural machine earmarked for the Fab 34 facility, christened by Intel as the “vanguard catalyst for the Intel 4 process technology.”
Construction of the Fab 34 wafer facility commenced in 2019, with its official production run envisaged for 2023. Intel has previously articulated that the Irish wafer plant is an integral component of its global wafer facility expansion blueprint. This ambitious endeavor aims to cater to the burgeoning global chip demand and to pave the way for the mass production of Intel’s 4 process, anticipated to underlie the fabrication of chips like Meteor Lake and Granite Rapids.
