TSMC hit for $550 million by sub-standard photoresist
TSMC said in a statement that a batch of photoresist contained a foreign polymer that created an undesirable effect on 16/12nm wafers processed in Fab 14B. The company added that it has decided to scrap a higher number of wafers than previously estimated (see TSMC production hit by sub-standard chemical).
The incident is expected to reduce revenue by about $550 million although the wafers scrapped will be made up in 2Q19 and contribute a similar sum to revenue in that quarter. At the same time TSMC said it plans to pull into 1Q19 manufacturing revenue of about $230 million from 2Q19 and as a result total revenue in 1Q19 is expected to be in the range $7.0 billion to $7.1 billion compared with the previous estimate of $7.3 billion to $7.4 billion.
TSMC said it has communicated with customers and worked out replacement delivery schedules and has strengthened inspection of incoming material and in-line wafers.
Customers that could have been affected include Nvidia, MediaTek and Huawei HiSilicon, according to reports.
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