WSJ, "Impact on Technological Innovations Such as Smartphones and Data Centers"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in the United States diagnosed on the 10th that the global semiconductor shortage that has persisted for the past two years could lead to disruptions in advanced semiconductor production. It also presented an analysis that the technological innovation of next-generation smartphones, data centers, and others is likely to be delayed due to this.
So far, the semiconductor shortage has mainly affected the automotive and electronics industries, leaving high-performance semiconductors produced through advanced processes largely unaffected. However, concerns have arisen as leading semiconductor manufacturers Samsung Electronics and Taiwan's TSMC face situations where they cannot meet delivery deadlines due to shortages of production equipment and yield (the ratio of defect-free qualified products) issues.
Predictions suggest that the shortage rate of advanced semiconductors could reach up to 20% after 2024, with expectations that the problem may intensify as early as next year. TSMC is reportedly already informing some customers that increasing production from 2023 to 2024 will be difficult due to production equipment acquisition issues. It is said that the delivery deadlines for newly ordered semiconductors could extend to 2 to 3 years as a result.
WSJ also pointed out that Samsung Electronics has experienced technical issues such as yield problems. When Samsung Electronics Foundry's 4-nanometer process semiconductor yield improvement took longer than initially expected, making it impossible to supply contracted volumes, key customers like Qualcomm and Nvidia reportedly shifted their orders to TSMC.
WSJ highlighted the problem that only two companies, Samsung Electronics and Taiwan's TSMC, produce advanced semiconductors due to high production costs and technical barriers.
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