The editors over at Semiconductor International have given their "Top Fab of the Year" award to Texas Instruments DMOS6, a 300mm fab. Congrats to the fab team in Dallas as the criteria required to win the annual award covers a lot more than how pretty the fab looks, though as my friends over at AMA Group (fab architects & architects for TI's fabs) would argue it is actually the most important aspect as these facilities are the modern equivalent of Cathedrals (in their eyes).

A key reason for DMOS6 winning the award was stated by Pete Singer, Editor-in-Chief of Semiconductor International as being the fab's ability to embrace multiple technology nodes in tandem production while also developing immersion lithography processes.

What makes this more remarkable is that this fab was one of the first 300mm fabs to be built and entered production in 2002.

However, what many people may not know is that according to our quarterly 300mm Report, DMOS6 also holds the honor of being the slowest-ramped 300mm fab to date.

TI has chosen to use foundries for much of its leading-edge requirements since the fab started ramping. But according to TI, the fab has now reached 16,000wspm and only has a 25,000wspm capacity, and, though the press release states 22,000, it's still getting close to full capacity.

We believe that TI may well undertake first phase tool install at its second 300mm fab in Richardson during 2007, though the ramp, we suspect, will be slow.

So well done, DMOS6 and look out for R-Fab winning the award in about 5 years!