The machines of the modern world are exquisitely small. They are labyrinths of multilayered transistors and electric circuits that in miniature rival the detail and design of sprawling metropolises.To see these new devices in all their complexity — in their billions of components — you must put them under microscope.Whisper thin and virtually weightless, these semiconductors and microchips are marvels that control and operate fighter jets and computers, cellphones and automobiles — virtually all of our modern electronics. They are drivers of the present and the future and could become one of the most significant drivers of the Arizona economy if we don’t miss our moment.TSMC made a huge investment in ArizonaThe average Arizonan has no conception of the massive project taking shape on the desert floor in north Phoenix near 43rd Avenue and West Dove Valley Road, west of Interstate 17. It cannot be adequately described without superlatives.Let’s begin with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company or TSMC.TSMC is the largest and most important producer of the most sophisticated semiconductors and microchips in the world. And it is our new partner. Western nations and virtually every state in the United States is drooling for the relationship Arizona enjoys with TSMC to develop a close-to-home supply chain for the devices that run the advanced world.As reported by The Arizona Republic’s Russ Wiles, TSMC originally had planned a $12 billion project in north Phoenix. That has since become a $40 billion play to build two fabs, or factories, on a site that spans some 2 miles by 1 mile.The project represents the largest foreign investment in Arizona history and one of the largest in U.S. history, The (U.K.) Guardian reports. With Intel, it makes us a dominant playerThe job projections are enormous.The site is expected to produce 21,000 construction jobs alone. When completed the facility workforce could number 4,500, The Guardian reports. That’s 4,000-5,000 semiconductor technicians and engineers pe …
