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.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would not produce its most advanced technologies in the US next year, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the comment during an appearance at the legislature, hours after the chipmaker announced that it would invest an additional US$100 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in the US. Asked by Taiwan People’s Party Legislator-at-large Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) if TSMC would allow its most advanced technologies, the yet-to-be-released 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer processes, to go to the US in the near term, Kuo denied it. TSMC recently opened its first US factory, which produces 4-nanometer
PROTECTION: The investigation, which takes aim at exporters such as Canada, Germany and Brazil, came days after Trump unveiled tariff hikes on steel and aluminum products US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a probe into potential tariffs on lumber imports — a move threatening to stoke trade tensions — while also pushing for a domestic supply boost. Trump signed an executive order instructing US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation “to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products.” The study might result in new tariffs being imposed, which would pile on top of existing levies. The investigation takes aim at exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil, with White House officials earlier accusing these economies of
Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
PROBE CONTINUES: Those accused falsely represented that the chips would not be transferred to a person other than the authorized end users, court papers said Singapore charged three men with fraud in a case local media have linked to the movement of Nvidia’s advanced chips from the city-state to Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepSeek (深度求索). The US is investigating if DeepSeek, the Chinese company whose AI model’s performance rocked the tech world in January, has been using US chips that are not allowed to be shipped to China, Reuters reported earlier. The Singapore case is part of a broader police investigation of 22 individuals and companies suspected of false representation, amid concerns that organized AI chip smuggling to China has been tracked out of nations such
RSS