A 7.6-magnitude earthquake recently struck Japan's Noto Peninsula, triggering the shutdown of a number of Taiwan semiconductor plants, and the impact is to be assessed.
Due to the strong earthquake led to the Noto Peninsula area of the disaster intensified, casualties increased, Ishikawa Prefecture and the surrounding cities appeared road sag and other serious conditions, traffic into chaos.

The semiconductor industry analyzed that few semiconductor factories could operate normally under a 7.6-magnitude earthquake. Fabs may face problems such as broken furnace tubes and stutter in the yellow light area, and the equipment needs to be completely cleaned before it can be re-operated. In addition, with the traffic chaos after the strong earthquake, problems such as employee attendance and cargo delivery will also be affected.

One of the affected manufacturers, Global Crystal, said it was affected by the shutdown of its vibration-sensitive equipment, but argued that the impact could only be assessed after seeing if aftershocks slowed down. For less sensitive equipment, work has been resumed. The company stressed that all equipment must pass inspection before restarting, and if the aftershock impact is small, the impact on the company's gross profit is not expected to be significant.

It is worth mentioning that Global Crystal is separated and independent by its parent company, Miamic Semiconductor business division. Miamic completed the acquisition of the semiconductor silicon wafer business division owned by Covalent Materials of Japan in 2012 and renamed it GWJ, so it can enter the field of 12-inch semiconductor wafers and obtain several production bases in Japan. The factory area affected by the strong earthquake was then acquired.

Xintang's facilities include TPSCo, the first fab in Toyama Prefecture, and Xintang's final fab. Xintang said that after the strong earthquake, it has launched emergency safety procedures to confirm that all employees, offices and factory buildings are safe, and facilities and equipment are being comprehensively inspected, while assessing the resumption time.

In the shutdown inspection of the plant in Niigata, the silicon wafer manufacturing process is most taboo to earthquake shaking in Crystal Growth, but the plant area of Shin-yue Chang-crystal is mostly in the Fukushima area, and the impact of the earthquake is limited.

Toshiba's Kaga plant is located in southwestern Ishikawa Prefecture, where it has a 6-inch and 8-inch plant, as well as a 12-inch plant scheduled for completion in the first half of 2024. Toshiba has halted operations at a facility at its Kaga plant, a major production hub for power semiconductors, and has yet to decide when operations will resume.

International Electric, a Japanese semiconductor equipment maker, said all employees and their families at its plant in Toyama Prefecture were safe. Some parts of the factory, including ceilings and walls, were damaged, so work began on the morning of July 2 to ensure safety. At present, the company is checking the surrounding road conditions and the entire supply chain, and if there is no problem, the operation will resume as planned from the 4th.

For the impact of the Japanese earthquake on the global semiconductor industry, research institute set state technology (TrendForce) pointed out that the semiconductor market is still in a downward cycle, coupled with the timing has entered the off-season, some components are still in inventory. Preliminary inspection showed that most of the factory machinery was not seriously damaged, and the degree of impact was controllable.

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