Japan quake: Tracking the status of fabs in wake of disaster
3/14/2011 2:30 PM EDT
The massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami that rocked Japan last week halted semiconductor production in many locations, damaging fabs and production equipment. At least a dozen fabs in northern Japan remain off line and some companies have reported that employees sustained injuries.
Many of the damaged fabs may remain offline for a prolonged period as Japan continues to grapple with the damage and prevent meltdowns at damaged nuclear reactors.
The semiconductor industry may be profoundly impacted by the sudden reduction and capacity and the disruption of the materials supply chain that may make many of the materials used in chip making harder to come by.
The following is the most up-to-date information available about the status of chip fabs and other facilities that have been impacted (listed alphabetically by company). Most of the information on the fabs was provided by companies that operate them. The status of several fabs and other facilities in the affected region remains unknown.
Elpida Memory Inc., Japan’s sole DRAM maker, said its 300-mm fab in Hiroshima ‘’suffered little impact because it is located in Hiroshima in the southwest of Japan, far from the northeastern regions struck by the earthquake. As of the morning of March 12 the plant (was) operating normally without any need to scrap wafers due to seismic effects.’’Elpida's Akita Elpida Memory unit, based in Akita-shi, Akita, wasn’t so lucky. That facility is responsible for chips requiring advanced packages and as its principal mass-production facility. ‘’The Akita Elpida plant is not in operation as of the time of this announcement due to power shut down caused by the earthquake. As soon as the electricity comes back on, normal business operations can be resumed. There is no damage to the manufacturing equipment,’’ according to Elpida.
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. issued a statement saying that all employees of its 150-mm wafer fab in Sendai. Though Japanese language reports over the weekend said that the Sendai fab survived the quake with no equipment damage, Freescale has not provided a timetable for when this facility might reopen. The fab, formally known as Tohoku Semiconductor Corp. is located at Izumi-ku Sendai, about 8 miles from the coast that was devastated by tsunami wave following the earthquake. Freescale put the fab up for sale in 2009.
Fujitsu Ltd. said a number of its facilities sustained damage from the earthquake, including its Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd. fab in Iwate prefecture and its Fujitsu Integrated Microtechnology Ltd. Miyagi plant in Miyagi prefecture, as well as four facilities in Fukushima prefecture. The company said the amount of loss and effects on profits as a result of the earthquake are currently unknown and that it would promptly make an announcement if the effects are significant.
Hitachi Group said several of its buildings and production facilities suffered damage, mainly at production bases in the Ibaraki prefecture. According to a report by Taiwan-based news outlet Want ChinaTimes.com, the disaster may have tangential impact of Hitachi’s chemical production. Taiwan's Vice Economics Minister Huang Chung-qiu said Sunday (March 13) that production of two vital raw materials—ACFs (anisotropic conductive adhesive) used in panel module driver ICs and silicon wafers needed for the manufacture of semiconductors have been affected: "A shortage of these materials could have a profound impact on midstream electronics components and downstream IT industries," Chung-qiu said. Huang said the the primary producer of ACF is Hitachi Chemical, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the total global production. as well.
U.S.-based passives giant Molex Inc. reported its employees in Japan were safe and that none of its three facilities were damaged in the massive earthquake. Molex has major operations in Shizouka, Kagoshima and Yamato City, none of which are in the northeastern part of the country that was hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami. ‘’With the situation also evolving rapidly in regard to transportation and infrastructure issues, we do not yet know what the effect will be on Molex’s business. As we work to assess how this will affect Molex, our business continuity teams are working to ensure we continue to supply customers,” said Martin Slark, vice chairman and CEO, in a statement.
On Semiconductor Corp. reported power loss and limited physical damage to its 6-inch wafer fab in Aizu. The company said its fab in Niigata, recently acquired along with Sanyo Semiconductor also reported limited physical damage, but sustained no power loss. The Niigata facility was initially evacuated as a precaution but operations were later restored, On Semi said. Another former Sanyo fab in Gifu sustained limited damage and was taken off line at least temporarily, On Semi said. It is not known whether that fub has restored operations. Two of On Semi's back-end packaging facilities were also damaged, according to the company.
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