iPhone 13 and Redesigned MacBook Pro Chip Production Hit With Gas Contamination

[Johnny907]

Contaminated gas > “gas contamination”

Clickbait headline is clickbait, intentional or not.

 

[darngooddesign]

lol, I guess it was hard to get the sarcasm 🤣

Thats what the /s tag is for.

 

[huge_apple_fangirl]

Does this mean new MacBook Pros will be delayed? 😟

 

[hovscorpion12]

Start building in the US.

 

[hovscorpion12]

Does this mean new MacBook Pros will be delayed? 😟

Probably. Yes

 

[Apple Core]

The most important TSMC factory that manufactures Apple's chips destined for next-generation iPhone and Mac models has been hit by a gas contamination, according to Nikkei Asia.

The factory, known as "Fab 18," is TSMC's most advanced chipmaking facility. TSMC is Apple's sole chip supplier, making all of the processors used in every Apple device with a custom silicon chip.

Industry sources speaking to Nikkei Asia said that all of the processors for Apple's upcoming iPhone and Mac devices are produced at this facility. This presumably translates to the iPhone 13 lineup and redesigned MacBook Pro models with Apple silicon, containing the "A15" and "M1X" or "M2" chips.

Gas used in the production of these chips was found to be contaminated on Thursday night. TSMC told Nikkei Asia: "Some TSMC production lines in the South Taiwan Science Park received certain gases from suppliers that are believed to be contaminated. These were quickly replaced with other gas supplies." Employees who had gone home were called back to the factory to bring the situation under control.

The company said that it is carrying out follow-up operations to ensure that product quality is not affected, and the incident is not believed to have caused a "significant impact on operations." Sources speaking to Nikkei Asia said that the gas contamination had affected the chip manufacturing process, but only in a limited way.

The contamination comes at a particularly bad time for Apple, as the company and its suppliers are currently said to be finalizing components for the final assembly process of new iPhone and Mac models by the end of August.

The iPhone 13 lineup is expected to launch in Apple's normal September timeframe. Redesigned MacBook Pro models featuring Apple silicon chips are also still expected to arrive this year, either alongside the iPhone 13 in September or at a separate event around October.

Article Link: iPhone 13 and Redesigned MacBook Pro Chip Production Hit With Gas Contamination

How a trillion dollar company depend on just one factory is beyond me!!!!

 

[boswald]

Not trying to be a troll here. But I have first-hand experience.

I spent a decade at a major chip manufacturer and even something as small as bringing in an unclean ballpoint pen can shutdown an entire fab. Every single thing that enters the production line (front or back end) has to be wiped down with IPA and sealed in a bag that was also wiped down with IPA. These are the cleanest places on the planet.

And that's for things that DON'T necessarily enter a machine. Remember, these machines are as big as most of our bathrooms and each machine costs millions of dollars. They are designed to operate in a sterile environment. A single human hair, at the 5nm scale, will destroy every single 300mm wafer in a 10 or 25-wafer lot. Or more lots if the wafers are mixed and matched in follow-on processes like happens in a lot of gigafabs. Few fabs can afford to keep lots segregated due to the hundreds of depositions, etches and inspections.

Again, we don't KNOW what happened here but it's safe to say that they are bleeding and flushing gas lines, decontaminating dozens (or hundred) of machines, transfer boxes, wafer handlers, inspection stations...they are shut down until this is solved.

Thank you for the information. That’s very interesting! I always thought of those places like the labs in those TV shows: white floor, ceiling, walls, suits, gloves…

 

[PlainviewX]

Fart Gate.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

Very unfortunate. Must be Kang or the leakers Apple is threatening with, who might be behind this.

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Can I have what you've been smoking, please?

 

[jz0309]

initial ramp for the phone/Macs has long gone through the fab, depending at which state of the fab process this actually happened, this might impact volumes in Q4 maybe

 

[jakebrosy]

Thank you for the information. That’s very interesting! I always thought of those places like the labs in those TV shows: white floor, ceiling, walls, suits, gloves…

It is like that. Very much so. Everybody in full-body bunny suits. Lots of latex (which is where I learned I'm allergic to latex). Double gloves (so you can change the outside set without leaving the clean room). I'm looking for photos from the good old days.

 

[incoherent_1]

As I read the headline, I was hoping “gas contamination” is a buzzword or corporate-speak for “accelerated production timeline,” but nope — literally just gas contamination.

 

[Mac4Mat]

Interesting article:

https://axaxl.com/~/-/media/axaxl/files/pdfs/prc-guidelines/prc-17/prc1711semiconductormanufacturingv1.pdf?sc_lang=en&hash=F9125AC89C3315276F8528DE7BBC8BD8

Personally I think the concern is overdone here though, and I notice that this information has been put out to virtually every media organisation and many others beside, which does give a hint to the scarcity principle of demand

 

[Kulfon]

Just called Prosser and asked what to do in this case. The guy definitely knows what he is talking about. You know Prosser, right? So he has the solution:

 

[boswald]

It is like that. Very much so. Everybody in full-body bunny suits. Lots of latex (which is where I learned I'm allergic to latex). Double gloves (so you can change the outside set without leaving the clean room). I'm looking for photos from the good old days.

I’d like to visit a site like that once. Just to know how they work and learn about the process. Watching the critical components of the products I use being made in front of me sounds incredible!

 

[zantafio]

Ok, who farted?

 

[Cosmosent]

Good thing Tim just issued $6.5B USD in additional Bond Debt !

 

[Cosmosent]

Odds are some of these chips made it into products.

NOT necessarily.

ALL chips would go thru final test "first".

 

[rgeneral]

Headline "Apple Chip A15 has gas!"

 

[dcopelandia]

Everybody walking around with their new iPhone 13's saying 'My iPhone has got gas'

 

[JetLaw]

My wife reported that I released some contaminated gas into our bedroom last night.

 

[Frixos]

Don’t worry Apple, I won’t be upgrading from my iPhone X until 2022 anyway.

Why not?

 

[StupidOpinion]

Maybe it’s Kang

KANG THE CONQUERER???

hides

 

[Metrosey]

So at least about 50 % of Apple's revenue depends on a single Factory. That sounds like a vulnerability.

And that’s why Supply Chain Attacks are so costly to companies. Not saying this is malicious, but it’s an environmental threat that will affect availability.

 

[xxray]

Just when we thought supply chain issues were already bad.