Editing Foundry model (section)

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{other uses|Foundry (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Microelectronics engineering and manufacturing business model}}

The '''foundry model''' is a [[microelectronics]] engineering and manufacturing [[business model]] consisting of a [[semiconductor fabrication plant]], or foundry, and an [[integrated circuit design]] operation, each belonging to separate companies or subsidiaries.<ref>{{cite journal
 | title =  Taiwan and the foundry model
 | author = M. Liu
 | journal = Nature Electronics
 | date = 14 May 2021
| volume = 4
 | issue = 5
 | pages = 318–320
 | doi = 10.1038/s41928-021-00576-y
 | doi-access = 
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 | chapter =  The Role of Semiconductor Foundries in Advanced Integrated Circuit Product Development
 | author = S. K. Saha
 | title = International Technology Management Conference
 | date = 25-27 June 2012
 | pages = 32–35
 | doi = 10.1109/ITMC.2012.6306393
 | isbn = 978-1-4673-2134-1
 | s2cid = 7329163
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 | chapter =  Foundry Technologies
 | author = F. C. Tseng
 | title = International Electron Devices Meeting. Technical Digest
 | date = 8-11 Dec 1996
 | pages = 19–24
 | doi = 10.1109/iedm.1996.553030
 | isbn = 0-7803-3393-4
 | s2cid = 40610229
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
 | title =  Foundry Technology Trend
 | author = J.Y.-C. Sun
 | editor1-first = David
 | editor1-last = Burnett
 | editor2-first = Dirk
 | editor2-last = Wristers
 | editor3-first = Toshiaki
 | editor3-last = Tsuchiya
 | journal = Proceedings of SPIE
 | series = Microelectronic Device Technology II
 | date = 1998
 | volume = 3506
 | pages = 19–24
 | doi = 10.1117/12.323970
 | bibcode = 1998SPIE.3506...19S
 | s2cid = 173181521
 }}</ref> It was first conceived by [[Morris Chang]], the founder of the [[Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited]] (TSMC).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Morris Chang: Foundry Father - IEEE Spectrum |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/morris-chang-foundry-father |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=[[IEEE Spectrum]] |language=en}}</ref>

[[Integrated device manufacturer]]s (IDMs) design and manufacture integrated circuits. Many companies, known as [[fabless semiconductor company|fabless semiconductor companies]], only design devices; merchant or [[pure play]] foundries only manufacture devices for other companies, without designing them. Examples of IDMs are [[Intel]], [[Samsung Electronics|Samsung]], and [[Texas Instruments]],
examples of pure play foundries are [[GlobalFoundries]], [[TSMC]], and [[United Microelectronics Corporation|UMC]], and examples of fabless companies are [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]], [[Nvidia]], and [[Qualcomm]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Integrated circuit production facilities are expensive to build and maintain. Unless they can be kept at nearly full use, they will become a drain on the [[finances]] of the company that owns them. The foundry [[Business model|model]] uses two methods to avoid these costs: fabless companies avoid costs by not owning such facilities. Merchant foundries, on the other hand, find work from the worldwide pool of fabless companies, through careful [[Scheduling (production processes)|scheduling]], [[pricing]], and contracting, keep their plants in full use.{{cn|date=January 2025}}