Seeking to improve subfab infrastructure for future semiconductor manufacturing, International SubFab Research Labs (ISRL USA) and AI Infrastructure Partners (AIIP) are collaborating to build, design and operate what they claim is the first purpose-built subfab R&D facility.
The facility will support an ecosystem of vendors from independent device manufacturers (IDMs), foundries, OEMs, subfab suppliers, materials companies and research institutions.
AIIP will build the R&D facility while ISRL USA will lead technical operations, research programs and neutral, multi-member platform.
What it will do
The subfab facility will replicate high-volume manufacturing conditions using legacy and edge process tools with a fully instrumented research environment for intellectual property (IP)-protected programs covering:
- Material reclaim
- Next generation abatement
- Equipment validation
- Workforce development
“For the first time, we have a credible path to the subfab R&D infrastructure chipmakers urgently need,” said Scott Balaguer, CEO of ISRL USA. “Together, we are building a platform where manufacturers, OEMs and innovators can collaborate on sustainability challenges that no single company can tackle alone.”
Why it matters
The subfab is the infrastructure layer beneath the cleanroom that is responsible for many of the unglamourous essential support systems like vacuum pumping, gas abatement and chemical waste management.
Not surprisingly, the subfab accounts for the chip industry’s largest environmental footprint but typically has little to no dedicated R&D infrastructure.
But with leading foundries and chipmakers — like TSMC, Intel, Micron, GlobalFoundries, Samsung and more— seeking to become net zero carbon, they lack the operating infrastructure to scale sustainability solutions.
The R&D facility will find pathways for these vendors to reach subfab sustainability providing a shared infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) environment for pre-competitive research, validate technologies and generate compliance-ready data at a lower cost and risk than standard pilot lines, ISRL USA said.
