Semiconductor factory: What are computer chips, and why are they so important?

Ohio has landed what amounts to its biggest economic development prize of all time: a major computer chip-making operation.

US computer chip production:What the CHIPS Act could mean for Ohio factory

But first, let's back up a bit and cover the basics.

What exactly is a chip and why are they important?

What is a computer chip?

Chips are integrated circuits or small wafers of semiconductor material, usually silicon or germanium, embedded with integrated circuitry. The delicate task of making them is done in so-called clean rooms. Before entering a "clean room," workers don safety gear so as to reduce contamination.

Making just one chip takes at least three months, if not longer.

So it goes to reason that chip fabrication plants, or "fabs," are huge capital investments and boons to local economies.

Why computer chips are important

Chips form the brains of every computing device, according to semiconductor company Intel, and are used in thousands of products, including cars, cellphones, appliances, gaming consoles and medical devices.

Global supply-chain problems during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to massive shortages of the chips, many of which are made overseas. This has created long delays for U.S. consumers to be able to buy everything from cars to appliances.

So semiconductor companies have started the long, laborious process of developing new U.S. sources of chips. The process would take several years before the plants would be up and running.

Only 12% of the world's chips are made in the U.S., down from 37% in the 1990s, according to industry officials. About 80% are made in Asia.

How a semiconductor factory could transform Columbus' economy

Samsung recently announced a $17 billion chip factory in Austin, Texas, and semiconductor company Intel has broken ground on two fabs, a $20 billion investment.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has also said the company wants to create a mini-city that could be a total investment approaching $100 billion.

"We're looking broadly across the U.S. We're saying come one, come all for proposals. This would be a very large site, so six to eight fab modules, and at each of those fab modules, between 10 and $15 billion. It's a project over the next decade on the order of $100 billion of capital, 10,000 direct jobs. 100,000 jobs are created as a result of those 10,000, by our experience. So, essentially, we want to build a little city," he told The Washington Post last August.

Dispatch business reporter Mark Williams contributed to this report.

Monroe Trombly covers breaking and trending news. He can be reached at mtrombly@dispatch.com. Or follow him on Twitter @MonroeTrombly