Polluted gas problem hit key chip production line TSMC

TSMC’s Fab 18 faced an issue last week where contaminated gas was used in the chip manufacturing process. TMSC makes, among other things, the processors for Apple at its location in Taiwan.

Last Thursday, TSMC discovered that a supplier had supplied gas with substances that do not belong in it. The company confirmed to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei this weekend that this was causing problems. “Some TSMC production lines in South Taiwan Science Park have received some gases that we believe are contaminated. These have been quickly replaced with other gas deliveries.”

TSMC says it is taking steps to ensure there are no production quality issues and the company does not expect the incident to have “a significant impact”. Nikkei writes that in Fab 18 TSMC is making the chips for iPhones and Macs and is preparing to start production of the next generation of chips. Rumors from an Apple analyst say it could be a successor to the M1 for Macs, the M1X, which includes more cores.

The actual impact of the gas problem on production is unknown. The incident comes at a time when TSMC and other chip manufacturers are trying to ramp up production to end global chip shortages.

TSMC Headquarters in Taiwan