Although chip shortage may have increased recently, it is not really a problem. According to the CEO of semiconductor giant TSMC, a portion of the problem stems from a lack of very affordable chips that has an influence on manufacturing elsewhere in the vast industry.
TSMC CEO C. C. Wei noted the challenge of ongoing shortages of chips priced between 50 cents and $10 maintaining up manufacturing in crucial portions of the supply chain in his speech at a tech symposium earlier this week.
Wei gave the example of ASML Keeping NV. The Dutch business is having trouble getting $10 chips for its ultra-violet printing equipment (EUVs). The largest manufacturer of lithography equipment used in the chip-making process is ASML.
Recently, the issue of further US force was brought up in order to stop it from marketing more advanced deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography resources to Chinese customers—sales of EUV equipment to the state were already forbidden.
The chip shortage most likely had the biggest impact on the automotive industry, which suffered billion-dollar losses over the last year. Ford also advertised some automobiles with missing chips while promising to install them later. Wei is infamous for saying that a lack of $.50 radio chips has prevented the development of $50,000 vehicles.
Wei mentioned that TSMC is already building new facilities, including a new 28-nanometer production facility in China, in order to keep up with demand for low-end chips as it can no longer produce them at its legacy plants. Even these older chips might eventually cost more, the CEO reportedly said.
To read our blog on “Apple’s 3nm chips will be produced by TSMC in the second half of 2022” click here.