MIT Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

March 7, 1995
3:30 Reception, 4:00 Lecture
Room 34-101, 50 Vassar Street

Title: Scaling Limits of the Billion Dollar Fab

Richard Hollingsworth
Digital Equipment Corporation
Hudson, Massachusetts

As forecasted in the early 1990s, the era of VLSI manufacturing facilities costing a billion dollars is here. In 1994, no less than 19 fabs were announced. These large investments have resulted from a vicious cycle of increased technology requirements leading to more costly machines and materials that generate larger fixed costs which need to be amortized over larger volumes to be economical. This escalation spiral has settled today at the billion dollar mark.

Are the forces leading to billion dollar fabs universal? Can cost competitive VLSI manufacturing in the sub 0.5 micrometer regime be realized at reduced production scale? What is the likelihood of an economically competitive "mini-mill" as originally postulated in the early 1990s?

This talk will explore the underlying economic factors in modern VLSI fabs along with the technical and operational challenges faced in scaling the billion dollar fab to significantly lower investment levels.