Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) shipments would not be affected by the contamination of gas used in the manufacturing process at one of its key plants in Tainan, the firm said yesterday.
While some TSMC production lines in Tainan’s Southern Taiwan Science Park received gas supplies that were found to be substandard, the chipmaker continued production using gas from other sources, the company said.
Local media reported that the contamination was discovered at the world’s largest contract chipmaker’s Fab 18 on Thursday night and that production would be affected during four days of cleanup work.
Photo: Hung Rui-ching, Taipei Times
While not confirming that the contamination occurred at the facility, TSMC said that based on an internal assessment, no delays in chip delivery would result from the incident.
Stringent follow-up measures have been implemented to monitor and trace the contamination, TSMC said, adding that this would not significantly affect operations at the site.
Moreover, torrential rains that yesterday caused flooding in Shanhua District (善化) did not affect operation at the nearby Fab 18 or at other facilities at the Southern Taiwan Science Park, the park operator said.
Local media reported 380mm of rainfall within 24 hours at the park, and flooding at parking lots and administrative buildings.
Fab 18 makes chips on TSMC’s 5-nanometer process, its latest technology, which went into mass production in the second quarter.
The plant produces A15 processors for Apple Inc’s new line of iPhones, which are scheduled to be released next month.
TSMC is reportedly the sole supplier of processors for the new iPhones, and a chip delivery delay might affect the line’s release.
Fab 18 reportedly also produces M1X and M2 processors for Apple’s latest MacBook Pro models.
Meanwhile, with the approach of the peak season for the global semiconductor industry, any incidents impeding production at TSMC plants might compromise the chipmaker’s third quarter sales, analysts said.
TSMC is developing 2- and 3-nanometer processes, with the latter to start production in the second half of next year.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Nvidia Corp’s GB300 platform is expected to account for 70 to 80 percent of global artificial intelligence (AI) server rack shipments this year, while adoption of its next-generation Vera Rubin 200 platform is to gradually gain momentum after the third quarter of the year, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said. Servers based on Nvidia’s GB300 chips entered mass production last quarter and they are expected to become the mainstay models for Taiwanese server manufacturers this year, Trendforce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) said in an interview. This year is expected to be a breakout year for AI servers based on a variety of chips, as
Global semiconductor stocks advanced yesterday, as comments by Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) at Davos, Switzerland, helped reinforce investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung Electronics Co gained as much as 5 percent to an all-time high, helping drive South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI above 5,000 for the first time. That came after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 3 percent to a fresh record on Wednesday, with a boost from Nvidia. The gains came amid broad risk-on trade after US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of tariffs on some European nations over backing for Greenland. Huang further
HSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) and the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance cooperation on the suspicious transaction analysis mechanism. This landmark agreement makes HSBC the first foreign bank in Taiwan to establish such a partnership with the High Prosecutors Office, underscoring its commitment to active anti-fraud initiatives, financial inclusion, and the “Treating Customers Fairly” principle. Through this deep public-private collaboration, both parties aim to co-create a secure financial ecosystem via early warning detection and precise fraud prevention technologies. At the signing ceremony, HSBC Taiwan CEO and head of banking Adam Chen (陳志堅)
RSS