IN a major vote of confidence in its Irish operation, US computer company Intel has given the go ahead for its Leixlip plant to produce the next generation of computer chips.
The new chips will be up to threes times faster than the fastest available now. The Leixlip plant under construction will have state of the art facilities which no other Intel plant would have.
The plant, FAB 14, is under construction as part of Intel's expansion programme. It will produce state of the art technology into the next century, according to Mr Frank McCabe, Intel Ireland's general manager. The plant will produce the next generation of chips after the Pentium Pro. These will be constructed at line widths of 0.25 of a micron falling to 0.18 of a micron, according to Mr McCabe.
The current chips work on the basis of being 0.6 of a micron, which is 166 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
This means roughly the chips could be around three times as powerful or three times smaller with the same power.
This technology will revolutionise the way we live, according to Dr Donald Fitzmaurice, director of the nanochemistry unit at UCD.
"This is the next big movement in the semi conductor society," said Dr Fitzmaurice. "Not only will most homes have a computer but almost everything in the home will have a mini computer in it."
According to Dr Fizmaurice, the ramifications are vast. Washing machines and kettles, for example, will have a chip that will allow them to be turned on remotely using e mail.
The technology will also allow the development of "smart drugs" which will contain a chip allowing the drug to be released in a specific part of the body.
The new chips which will have countless applications in business band entertainment are also likely to mean further computerisation in manufacturing and to have countless uses in the fields of media and entertainment.
Factories which previously would not have found it cost effective to mechanise their processes will be able to do so.
Intel is already taking oil the people who will work with the new technology. It is expecting to recruit around 400 people by the end of March and a further 450 over the rest of the year.
