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Perhaps you heard that Intel and Micron were teaming up to open a new 25nm NAND flash facility in Lehi, Utah. It’s pretty big news, especially if you are following the SSD market as this should lead to higher capacity SSDs and more affordable products.
Now these are normally closed facilities filled with clean rooms and people in “bunny suits”, but it looks like Intel has given at least one tour. In case you are curious about just how rare this is, PC Mag said that it’s the first time any press were allow into the fab. PC Perspectives has posted an article with some great images detailing a walk through the Intel/IMFT production facility.
Because of restrictions (see everyone wearing those white clean room suits?) it appears that all the images were provided by Intel as taking anything into the clean areas would have been a contamination risk.
And what is the one thing you’ll want to know about the affect of the move to 25nm (aside from the obvious fact that these facilities are incredibly awesome), the PC Perspectives has that too:
The die size is roughly the same, and the wafers haven’t changed diameter, so with double the capacity, we’re talking a neat 50% drop in cost per GB. Keep in mind this change won’t happen overnight. The fab has to make its money back from all of the R&D and retooling costs needed to make the transition. Because of this, we won’t see the price slashing that took place with the move to 34nm, but over time prices will drop as production ramps up and the old process is phased out.
