Chip shortage highlights U.S. dependence on fragile supply chain – By Leslie Stahl (60 Minutes) / Aug 29 2021
Seventy-five percent of semiconductors, or microchips — the tiny operating brains in just about every modern device — are manufactured in Asia. Lesley Stahl talks with leading-edge chip manufacturers, TSMC and Intel, about the global chip shortage and the future of the industry.
Car companies across the globe have had to idle production and workers because of a shortage of semiconductors, often referred to as microchips or just chips. They’re the tiny operating brains inside just about every modern device, like smartphones, hospital ventilators, even fighter jets. As we first reported in May, the pandemic sent chip demand soaring unexpectedly, as we bought computers and electronics to work, study, and play from home. But while more and more chips are needed in the U.S., fewer and fewer of them are manufactured here.
Intel is the biggest American chipmaker. Its most advanced fabrication plant, or fab for short, is located outside Phoenix, Arizona. New CEO, Pat Gelsinger, invited us on a tour to see how incredibly complex the manufacturing process is.
First, we had to suit up to avoid contaminating the fab: head-cover – on; bunny suit – zipped; goggles; gloves… ready to go.
Lesley Stahl: I’m pristine!
Pat Gelsinger: Everything in this environment is controlled.
Together we stepped into a place with some of the most sophisticated new technology on Earth.
CONTINUE > https://www.cbsnews.com/news/semiconductor-chip-shortage-60-minutes-2021-08-29/
