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Definition: fab


(FABrication) A manufacturing plant that makes semiconductor devices, commonly called "chips." However, many chips are designed by "fabless" companies that send their designs to a fab for production, in which case the fab is called a "foundry."

As of 2025, the U.S. has roughly 12% of the fabs in the world, although the country is expanding rapidly. With more than $300 billion in investment in the mid-2020s, Intel, Micron, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, Texas Instruments and TSMC are building new facilities in America in order to catch up (see Chips and Science Act). See foundry.

Be the First on Your Block
You too can be a chip maker. All it takes is $15 to $20 billion to build a state-of-the-art facility. See process technology.






Inside a Chip Fab
Chip making is an extraordinarily complex manufacturing process. Wafers full of chips can take weeks to make with dozens of processing steps to create the many layers of a chip. These images are from Microchip Technology in Tempe, Arizona, which makes and sells its own chips as well as provides foundry services for other companies. See Microchip Technology and chip manufacturing.





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