A New Semiconductor Plant That Emphasizes Industrial Cleanliness

A worker, left, examines in microscopic detail a wafer of transistors being made at Hexfet America, International Rectifier’s new plant in Rancho California. The surgical-like clothing is required not for the worker’s protection but to maintain the strict air-purity levels needed in the “clean room,” where the incredibly tiny, sensitive parts are made.

The new $90-million plant, which was dedicated this week, uses 200 gallons of water per minute. The water, along with gases used in the process, is piped in through a tunnel, above, that carries the lines from bulk storage directly to processing equipment inside the plant.

The 250,000-square-foot plant is the most automated semiconductor manufacturing facility in the United States. Begun in late 1984 even as the semiconductor industry headed into a long slump, the plant is integral to International Rectifier’s strategy to become the low-cost producer of power MOSFETs, a type of transistor used as controls in computer systems, automobiles, certain space shuttle devices and other high-tech equipment.