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Semiconductor fab · Taiwan

TSMC Fab 18, Tainan

One of the leading-edge logic fabs producing the most advanced commercial chips.

ComponentSemiconductor fab

What happens here

A leading-edge fab consumes ultrapure silicon wafers, dozens of specialty gases including neon and helium, tungsten and cobalt for the wiring, and hafnium oxide for the transistor gates. The material list is longer than most people expect.

In and out

Goes in

Cobalt Copper Hafnium Helium High-Purity Quartz Silicon Tungsten

Comes out

Outputs for this site are not itemised in the atlas.

Operator

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

The largest contract chipmaker in the world and the main producer of leading-edge logic chips.

ManufacturerTSM

Journeys that pass through this plant

A quarry in North Carolina to the chip in your phone The most valuable sand on Earth, and almost all of it comes from one small district.

Chains that pass through here

Sand to Semiconductor

Ordinary quartz to a crystal so pure that one stray atom in a billion is a defect.

Supply chain

TSMC Fab 18, Tainan

What happens here

In and out

Operator

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Journeys that pass through this plant

Chains that pass through here

Sand to Semiconductor

Materials

The ground

The economy

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