Summer 2021
Severe weather in Taiwan Taiwan is the leading producer of chips , and severe droughts in the summer of 2021 affected output . The droughts affected production due to the lack of available ultrapure water that is needed to clean the silicon wafers used in microprocessors . Date or Number : 1970s
2021
Cryptocurrency sees chip demand soar The increased use of cryptocurrencies requires a huge amount of data mining , all done with specialised computers . The high demand for cryptocurrency mining machines reduced the availability of chips for other uses .
September 2020
Trade war between US and China As part of the economic conflict between China and the United States , the US Department of Commerce imposed restrictions on China ' s largest chip manufacturer , Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ( SMIC ), which made it harder for them to sell to companies with American ties
April 2022
Russia invades Ukraine Neon is critical for the lasers used to make chips , and Ukraine ' s two leading suppliers of neon produce about half the world ' s supply . Both halted operations when Russia invaded , causing further disruptions to supplies of chips supplychaindigital . com 17