Hat Labs and the Global Semiconductor Shortage
- 2021-09-18
- Matti Airas
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global semiconductor shortage, caused by partial shutdowns of integrated circuit production facilities due to the global lockdowns early 2020 as well as marked increase in the demand of computers and consumer electronics. As a result, many commonly available chips have become totally unavailable or the price has increased many times over. For example, a common real-time clock chip, DS3231MZ used in SH-RPi cost USD 1.61 in low quantities in August 2020, but now the price has increased to over USD 7 at low quantities, with ship date estimates around May or July, 2022. Some of these components can be easily replaced, but most require at least a partial PCB design with prototype rounds and EMC pre-compliance testing.
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