Utah's wafer fabs
10/01/2001
 Bryce Canyon, UT |
With only one active wafer facility, Utah certainly cannot be considered a semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse. The state ranks 21st nationally based on employment. The fab is Fairchild Semiconductor's facility in West Jordan, two lines processing 150mm wafers with an estimated maximum capacity of 35,000 wafers/month.
Prior to the current industry slump, Micron Technology was building a multifaceted facility, including plans for 300mm wafer processing, in Lehi, Utah. Currently this facility is used only for test; plans for wafer processing were put on indefinite hold early in 2001 and will be re-initiated when market conditions warrant.
 Arches National Park, UT |
Utah, however, does have a significant high-tech industry. Fifty-five out of every 1000 private sector workers are employed by high-tech firms, according to Cyberstates 2001. The leading high-tech industry segments in the state include software services (13,300 jobs), communications services (9100), and data processing and information services (7000). Utah ranks 26th nationally in high-tech employment (47,860 jobs at 2016 establishments) and 31st in high-tech average wage ($48,171). — P.B.