Aftershocks mean Japanese semi production stalled -

There have been over 150 aftershocks following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami a week ago and that means Japanese fabs have little chance of re-starting until these cease, aside from other problems the country faces.

According to IHS iSuppli, earthquakes over magnitude five cause fabrication plants to automatically shut down.

The research firm says there are 130 fab lines in 53 locations in Japan. And OEMs appear to be engaging in panic buying of both chips and components, with distributors reporting a surge in orders.

But IHS iSuppli said that given the disruptions are bad enough, a buildup in inventories could help mitigate reduced supplies. It’s not just semiconductor fabs that are affected. Japan is the world’s leading producer of silicon and makes many chemicals used to produce chips.

IHS iSuppli said that some of the chemicals are dangerous and warns continuing power outages could cause explosions or the release of toxic chemicals. Factories won’t carry on producing material until there’s a stable power supply. The following table, courtesy of IHS iSuppli, demonstrates the extent of the problems in Japan.

Company Product Technology Location
Elpida Memory Incorporated Memory Hiroshima
Freescale Logic Sendai
Fujitsu Memory, Analog, Discrete Aizu Wakamatsu
Fujitsu Logic Akiruno
Fujitsu Memory, Microcomponent Iwate
Fujitsu Microcomponent, Logic Mie
Fujitsu Microcomponent, Logic Mie
Matsushita / Panasonic Microcomponent, Logic, Analog, Discrete Arai
Matsushita / Panasonic Discrete Bizen
Matsushita / Panasonic Discrete Hioki
Matsushita / Panasonic Discrete Kyoto
Matsushita / Panasonic Analog, Discrete Nagaokakyoushi
Matsushita / Panasonic Microcomponent, Logic Tonami
Matsushita / Panasonic Logic, Analog Uozu
Matsushita / Panasonic Discrete Utsunomiya
Micron Technologies Optical Nishiwaki
Mitsubishi Analog Kumamoto
Mitsumi Analog Kita-Nihon
ON Semiconductor Logic Aizu
ON Semiconductor Logic, Discrete Gifu
ON Semiconductor Logic, Discrete Gunma
ON Semiconductor Logic, Analog Ojyia
Renesas Electronics Logic Goshogawara, Aomori
Renesas Electronics Memory, Microcomponent, Logic Hitachinaka, Ibaragi
Renesas Electronics Logic, Analog, Discrete Kansai
Renesas Electronics Microcomponents Kita-Nihon
Renesas Electronics Microcomponents Kochi
Renesas Electronics Microcomponent, Logic, Analog, Discrete Koufu
Renesas Electronics Memory, Microcomponent, Logic, Analog Kyuhu
Renesas Electronics Memory, Microcomponent, Logic Saijo
Renesas Electronics Analog, Discrete Takasaki
Renesas Electronics Logic Tsuruoka
Rohm Memory, Analog, Discrete Chikugo
Rohm Logic Hamamatsu
Rohm Memory, Logic, Discrete Kyoto
Rohm Logic, Discrete Miyagi
Rohm Discrete Miyazaki
Rohm Logic Tsukuba
Sieko-Epson Logic, Optical Yasu
Sony Semiconductor Logic, Analog Kyushu Kagoshima
Sony Semiconductor Logic Kyushu Kumamoto
Sony Semiconductor Memory, Microcomponent, Logic Kyushu Nagasaki
Sony Semiconductor Logic Shiraishi
Texas Instruments Analog Hiji
Texas Instruments Analog Inashiki
Toshiba Discrete Hyogo (Himeji)
Toshiba Discrete Ishikawa (Nomi)
Toshiba Discrete Iwate
Toshiba Memory, Analog Mie (Yokkaichi)
Toshiba Logic Nagasaki
Toshiba Logic Oita
     
Phenitec Foundry Ibara, Japan
UMCJ Foundry Tateyama, Japan