Manufacturing terminology
Our internal manufacturing operations consists of many manufacturing sites worldwide. Each manufacturing site includes at least one wafer fab and/or assembly and test factory.
This page is intended to provide information on select manufacturing terms. For more details on TI’s manufacturing operations, please visit our manufacturing page.
Fab
Wafer fabrication
The semiconductor chip manufacturing process starts with wafer fabrication (fab). Fab locations transform a circular piece of ultra-pure silicon, called silicon wafers, into individual chips through thousands of process machines, lasers, ultra-precision optics and advanced robotics.
Assembly
Assembly, test and packaging
After the fab process, wafers go to assembly and test factories where chips are assembled into finished semiconductor components, tested to the appropriate specifications, and readied for shipment to our customers. Our internal manufacturing operations also include wafer bump and probe facilities, which are frequently co-located within our existing factories.
Manufacturing capability
Owning and controlling our manufacturing operations allow us to provide geopolitically dependable capacity to our customers around the world. With our internal manufacturing capabilities, we’re able to source more than 85% of our manufacturing flows and technologies at more than one site, quickly bring factories online and streamline product qualifications – all while adhering to strict quality specifications. Additionally, our robust business continuity processes helps us limit the interruption of production due to unexpected events.
Additional resources
Terminology and abbreviations
When buying semiconductors from TI, you will receive information about the location where your product was manufactured and assembled. In most cases, you will find related information that includes the state/province along with the country/region on TI.com. Please see below for a list of commonly used abbreviations and terminology.
| Abbrevation on invoice/packaging | Meaning | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ACO | Assembly country origin | Country where assembly occurs. |
| ASO | Assembly site origin | Assembly facility. |
| CCO | Chip country origin | Country where fabrication occurs. |
| COO | Country of origin | COO generally refers to the country/region where an item was produced and/or underwent substantial transformation. The applicable COO definition may vary depending on the country and the purposes for which COO is used. It is the responsibility of the importer of record to determine COO, and any COO provided by TI is for informational purposes only. |
| CSO | Chip site origin | Fabrication facility. |
| PDC | Product Distribution Center | Location of the warehouse/storage from where the items are shipped. |