How a .07-second Power Cut Killed Memory Chips
1:20 PM - December 12, 2010 by Marcus Yam - source: Tom's Hardware US
Death to memory chips due to just a blink in the power.
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Toshiba experienced a 0.07-second power outage at one of its NAND memory pro
duction plants. Normally a blip like that might even go unnoticed, but for T
oshiba, it was a huge deal that essentially set back memory production for m
onths.
The Japanese company estimates that the slight power blip could set back mem
ory production by 20 percent through February. Given Toshiba's big position
in the memory supply chain, this means that the single outage could cause a
7.5 percent drop in worldwide shipments, according to the Wall Street Journa
l.
While Toshiba normally has backup power to avoid incidents such as what happ
ened, the voltage drop was too great for what the backup system was designed
to handle. As a result, the entire line shut down.
The brief outage stalled the production of the silicon wafers from where the
chips come, which ruined a process that make take eight to 12 weeks to comp
lete. Furthermore, the air purifying and conditioning system that ensures a
clean and dust-free environment for the chips was also temporarily disabled.
Although Toshiba isn't the memory maker in town, the supply drop could be en
ough to raise prices to the benefit of the entire industry, which major play
ers include Samsung, Micron and Hynix.
