Rapidus Starts 2nm Gate All Around Prototype Production at IIM-1

Summary

Rapidus Wafer Photo Large Rapidus said that it has started running prototype wafers at its new fab. The new 2nm Gate All Around (GAA) transistors are a play to bring new high-end semiconductor manufacturing to Japan. Rapidus Starts 2nm Gate All Around Prototype Production at IIM-1 IIM-1, short for Innovative Integration for Manufacturing, is being built in Chitose City, Hokkaido, Japan. The new GAA prototypes are being done on a fairly aggressive timeline. Groundbreaking on the facility happened in September 2023. Since then, the clean room was finished in 2024. The company also says that the facility had its EUV tool installed in December 2024, its first EUV exposure in April 2025, and now has over 200 pieces of machinery up and running. Rapidus IIM 1 Exterior Large The end goal is to start advance customers in about three quarters. Then the company says it plans to hit volume manufacturing in 2027. While I was looking at this announcement, I saw something really neat. It is fairly well-documented that Japan has earthquakes. Putting a fab in an active area like this can be a challenge. I found some views of things like the steel dampeners that were used in the construction of the fab. Rapidus IIM-1 Steel Damper Even the other columns look like the have sliding points so the building can shake without breaking. Rapidus IIM-1 Column That was just a cool look under the fab that you do not normally get to see. Final Words Given the place of advanced semiconductors in the global economy, Rapidus IIM-1 is a big deal for both the industry, but also for Japan. It will be interesting to see how the 2nm GAA process works, but so far it seems as though the company is hitting its milestones towards production. Maybe one day Patrick will get to take a tour of IIM-1 and see those dampeners.