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After the recent announcement that Intel Corp would construct a new 300mm fab, D1X at Intel's Ronler Acres Campus in Hillsboro, Oregon, the microprocessor giant used a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama to its Oregon campus to announce the construction of another 300mm fab, dubbed Fab 42 at Intel's site in Chandler, Arizona. The US$5 billion plus plant will begin construction in the middle of this year and is expected to be completed in 2013. It will ramp using Intel’s 14nm process on 300mm wafers.

"This new factory will play a central role in extending Intel's unquestioned leadership in semiconductor manufacturing," commented Intel President and CEO, Paul Otellini. "The transistors and chips it will produce will be the most dynamic platform for innovation that our company has ever created. Together they will enable more capable computers, the most advanced consumer electronics and mobile devices, the brains inside the next generation of robotics, and thousands of other applications that have yet to be invented."

Previously, Intel announced plans to spend US$6-8 billion over several years to upgrade several existing U.S. factories and build a new development fab, D1X in Oregon.

“The investment positions our manufacturing network for future growth,” said Brian Krzanich, senior vice president and general manager, Manufacturing and Supply Chain. “This fab will begin operations on a process that will allow us to create transistors with a minimum feature size of 14 nanometers. For Intel, manufacturing serves as the underpinning for our business and allows us to provide customers and consumers with leading-edge products in high volume. The unmatched scope and scale of our investments in manufacturing help Intel maintain industry leadership and drives innovation.”

There had been speculation that D1X would be a 450mm fab, rather than 300mm, however Intel only noted at the time that it would 450mm compatible.

With Fab 42 pushing into the 14nm node and ready for ramp in 2013, Intel specifically noted the volume production plant would be a 300mm facility. This latest announcement means that capital spending by Intel over the next several years will be significantly higher than in recent years, after a spell of no new fab announcements at the leading-edge.