Why is semiconductor manufacturing so hard?

There is both a simple answer and a complicated one. The simple version is that making chips is incredibly difficult—and getting tougher. Manufacturing a chip typically takes more than three months and involves giant factories, dust-free rooms, multi-million-dollar machines, molten tin and lasers.

Why does it take so long to manufacture semiconductors?

There can be up to 1,400 process steps (depending on the complexity of the process) in the overall manufacturing of just the semiconductor wafers alone. In short, making semiconductors is exceedingly hard and, therefore, takes time.

Why is semiconductor manufacturing so expensive?

The clean room is where all fabrication takes place and contains the machinery for integrated circuit production such as steppers and/or scanners for photolithography, in addition to etching, cleaning, doping and dicing machines. All these devices are extremely precise and thus extremely expensive.

Why are chips so hard to come by?

As the world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many factories closed with it, making the supplies needed for chip manufacturing unavailable for months. Increased demand for consumer electronics caused shifts that rippled up the supply chain.

What caused semiconductor chip shortage?

What is the chip shortage? As the world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many factories closed with it, making the supplies needed for chip manufacturing unavailable for months. Increased demand for consumer electronics caused shifts that rippled up the supply chain.

What caused the shortage of semiconductors?

The surge in sales for electronic devices during the pandemic created a huge demand for semiconductors. But COVID-19 is not the only factor behind the shortage. The tense relationship between the United States and China is also a factor, since many US companies do business with Chinese companies.

Why processors are so expensive?

The reason that Intel and AMD CPUs are expensive is largely due to their silicon area. A CPU, indeed any IC, starts as a silicon wafer. These start, currently, at 12 inches in diameter. It is run through an elaborate series of processes to create the IC.

Why is semiconductor manufacturing so difficult?

“It’s not rocket science—it’s much more difficult,” goes one of the industry’s inside jokes. The more complicated answer is that it takes years to build semiconductor fabrication facilities and billions of dollars—and even then the economics are so brutal that you can lose out if your manufacturing expertise is a fraction behind the competition.

Who are the manufacturers of semiconductors?

* Smaller manufacturers include the U.S.’s GlobalFoundries Inc., China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) and Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp. But they’re at least two to three generations behind TSMC’s technology.

Are microprocessors the most complicated devices ever made?

Former Intel Corp. boss Craig Barrett called his company’s microprocessors the most complicated devices ever made by man. This is why countries face such difficulty in achieving semiconductor self sufficiency.

How hard is it to make chips?

There is both a simple answer and a complicated one. The simple version is that making chips is incredibly difficult—and getting tougher. “It’s not rocket science—it’s much more difficult,” goes one of the industry’s inside jokes.