Intel buys in fab capacity to help tightness

Chip giant Intel said today it will buy a fabrication plant (factory) from Rockwell International, and the idea is that it will be able to assist the company to satisfy demand for its microprocessors in the short term. That follows our scoop yesterday, when Intel confirmed that its fab capacity was not all it could be for its leading-edge Coppermine technology. The now ex-Rockwall fab will be in full production by the end of this year, according to a senior chap called Mike Splinter, an Intel senior vice president. The fab is based in Colorado Springs, which presumably has an aquifer below it. Large chip companies need lots of water to make CPUs, which are sometimes described as the brains of a computer. The Rockwell Fab has been mothballed, and Intel said that it will spend $1.5 billion to bring everything up to speed. It will manufacture .18 micron chips there. A micron, Intel says, is around 1/100th of the width of a typical human hair. What is a typical human hair? Answers to the forum please, not to the journalists direct. And no, you don't win an Intel Bunny Suit if you get the answer right. ® See also Intel confirms huge Pentium III shortage How did Intel get it so wrong? Intel Pentium III shortages hit Taiwan's board makers Memory makers start to suffer from Intel chip drought