Today's semiconductor industry is definitely a vital industry, but this industry also faces many challenges.According to media reports, WimBus, one of the leaders of lithography giant ASML, revealed that natural disasters are the number one enemy of the semiconductor industry, with earthquakes being the most serious.
Earthquakes may have a major impact on the semiconductor industry, and it is particularly pointed out that Taiwan and Japan, which are located in earthquake zones, need to solve such problems urgently.
According to the report,Due to the extremely complex structure of the machines that make chips, even slight vibrations on the ground may disrupt the machines, leading to major errors in chip production.
For example, the previous 921 Nantou earthquake in Taiwan, China, not only collapsed many houses, but also shut down some chip factories, causing heavy financial losses.
Another example is Silicon Valley in the United States, which is home to major companies such as Nvidia and Armand, as well as numerous advanced research centers.
Since there is an active San Andreas fault near Silicon Valley, if the energy is released and triggers a major earthquake, this important technology center may be "instantly paralyzed." However, these industries have long been aware of this risk, so data protection is particularly important.
WimBus revealed that ASML has set up support teams around the world to ensure that semiconductor production equipment can be repaired immediately when it fails, and that the equipment also has protective measures.
He also reminded that the uncertainty of earthquakes is extremely high. For example, powerful earthquakes are often difficult to predict, so earthquakes are still the biggest challenge facing the semiconductor industry.