Micron Investment will stimulate the chip ecosystem in New York

Micron Technologies plans to invest up to US $100 billion in a semiconductor manufacturing plant near Syracuse, New York, to create a regional ecosystem to help meet chip needs for data storage, autonomous cars and other fields.

Micron and local government officials confirmed this commitment for more than 20 years on October 4. The base is located in Clay, the suburb of Syracuse City. Previously, Micron evaluated its site selection for improving DRAM production in the United States and conducted several months of negotiations. The base can eventually accommodate four clean rooms with a total area of 2.4 million square feet, which Micron calls "the largest clean room space in the United States by far".

The investment of Micron will be an early beneficiary of the Chip and Science Act signed by President Biden in August. The bill aims to promote domestic chip manufacturing and is expected to provide federal grants and tax credits for Micron's Central New York factory.

In Clay, the construction of Meguiar's factory is expected to start in 2024. The chipmaker is expected to employ about 9000 people. However, tens of thousands of workers may find jobs in related enterprises, which are expected to move into the area.

Joe Stockunas, president of SEMI America, the electronics industry association for product design and manufacturing chain, said, "You will see another 20 companies entering the region." He used to work for companies that provide equipment and materials for the semiconductor industry.

He said that chip manufacturers need wafer manufacturing equipment, such as photolithography, chemical vapor deposition, chemical cleaning, etching and planarization equipment. The company providing these equipment will arrange technical and sales personnel near the factory.

He said: "Many suppliers have very complex machines, so they need corresponding engineers and technicians, who can arrive at the factory in one hour and repair the machines in four hours.

There will also be enterprises providing spare parts and materials nearby to keep the chip factory running. Stockunas said that in addition to silicon, there are more than 50 kinds of gases and chemicals, copper and aluminum and other metal materials used to manufacture integrated circuits.

The company that provides all these equipment and materials usually has a team that can support the factory, he said. "This will form a complete ecosystem."