<h5>What is silicon, and what are its uses?</h5>  <p>Silicon is the second most abundantly available element on Earth after oxygen. It is known for its widespread availability and semiconductor properties. This makes it an ideal raw material for the preparation of microchips. These microchips act as the brain of computers found in electronics around us, such as aircraft, cars, and tablets.
</p> <h5>How are silicon microchips made?</h5>  <p>Silicon is purified, melted, and then cooled in the shape of a cylinder called an ingot. These ingots are then sliced into thin silicon wafers (like chopping a cucumber). Electrical components are then placed on each of these microchips.</p>
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Manufacturing plants where these microchips are made cost billions of dollars to make. The entire manufacturing process is extremely sensitive and delicate. For this reason, this process is done in special sterile rooms which are lit by dim yellow light to avoid ultraviolet radiation. People who work in these rooms are required to wear special suits to avoid contamination from hair, dust, etc. 
</p> <h5>Why is there a shortage of silicon?</h5>  <p>Factories that manufactured microchips, and ports that transported their components, shut down due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, lockdowns were imposed across the world. People rushed to buy electronic devices that would help them work from home, attend online classes, etc. </p>
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Around this time, car manufacturers anticipated demand to fall. To avoid losses, they cancelled orders of existing microchips. Seeing this, microchip manufacturers changed their tools to manufacture microchips for consumer electronics, which were high in demand. Once the demand for automobiles returned, a shortage of automobile microchips ensued. </p>
<p>Since chip manufacturing is extremely difficult, there are only a few microchip factories across the world. A few of these manufacturing plants met with unfortunate events: (i) a plant in Japan caught fire; (ii) winter storms in Texas, United States forced plants to shut down; and (iii) a drought in Taiwan, one of the world’s largest microchip manufacturers, slowed down production since manufacturing microchips requires lots of water.</p>
<p>Due to the above reasons, microchip manufacturers were unable to meet the global demand for microchips, leading to a shortage. 
</p> <h5>What is the impact of silicon shortage?</h5>  <p>Since supply is unable to meet the demand, the price of microchips will likely increase. This means that electronics will get more expensive. The availability of electronics will also be adversely impacted. </p>
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<p>Apple recently announced that the microchip shortage is expected to delay the production of iPhones and is already impacting sales of iPads and Macs. Gaming consoles like Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation are also running in short supply due to this reason. General Motors, an automobile manufacturer, announced that it had parked thousands of vehicles that were completed but still did not have the required microchips.</p>
<p>Joe Biden, President of the United States, is planning to give incentives to microchip makers for setting up manufacturing facilities in the United States. Similarly, the European Union is in talks with chip manufacturers to set up a factory in Europe to double global chip production. Experts expect that supply will catch up with demand by 2023, ending the microchip shortage.
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Imagine a world without electronic devices. That is exactly what the future may be due to a shortage of silicon. Let's find out more!

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