“It’s probably the most disruptive event in my 40 years of audio industry experience,” said John La Grou, CEO of Millennia Media.
He obviously doesn't work in live sound. 🙄
He obviously doesn't work in live sound. 🙄
There are plenty of foundries in Asia that I'm sure would be more than happy for the business. Hopefully they don't have too many issues with the yield.
It'll take a very significant amount of time for other fabs to tool up for making some of these, I would think. Not good news, that's for sure.
“It’s probably the most disruptive event in my 40 years of audio industry experience,” said John La Grou, CEO of Millennia Media.
I would love to know if others can highlight more disruptive events for the audio industry experience.
I figure the pandemic has to be the biggest hazard for the live systems vendors.
I would love to know if others can highlight more disruptive events for the audio industry experience.
I figure the pandemic has to be the biggest hazard for the live systems vendors.
What, are they smoking around gasoline in those chip-plants this year?
Fire broke out at Samsung memory chip factory – SemiMedia March 9, 2020
Fire broke out at Samsung memory chip factory – SemiMedia March 9, 2020
For those of you in the industry who are still unaware:-
Fire broke out at AKM factory in Japan – SemiMedia.
AKM Factory Fire—A Pro-Audio Industry Disaster | ProSoundNetwork.com
Nobeoka City, Japan (October 29, 2020)—In the wake of a massive three-day fire at the Nobeoka City factory of semiconductor producer Asahi Kasei Microsystems (AKM), pro-audio manufacturers around the globe are now facing anticipated shortages of crucial DAC and ADC chips used in their products. “It’s probably the most disruptive event in my 40 years of audio industry experience,” said John La Grou, CEO of Millennia Media. “Devastating is not too strong a word. Can 2020 get any worse?”
Millennia is just one of many high-end pro-audio companies with major products designed around AKM chips; others include Solid State Logic, TASCAM, miniDSP, Merging Technologies, SPL of Germany and RME, to name only a few.
The AKM fire broke out at the semiconductor manufacturing plant on Tuesday, October 20, and took three days to put out. While no one was hurt, reportedly 400 employees were evacuated when it began. Parts of the building structure, including sections of walls and the roof, collapsed on October 22 after another fire broke out on the factory’s fifth floor. Throughout the blaze, a chemical odor emanated from the building, thought to be hydrogen chloride generated by the coatings of electrical cables on fire.
Ultimately, the blaze was extinguished around midnight on October 23, a full 82 hours after it began. According to IC industry news site SemiMedia, the entire factory is now offline and is expected to take a minimum of six months to restore production.
Chinese semiconductor distributor CGoC Industrial Electronics publicly noted that it expects various AKM DAC series (AK4332, AK4331, AK4432, AK4382, AK4385, AK4373, AK4396, AK4431, AK4456, AK4490, AK4493, AK4495) and possibly ADC series (AK5384, AK5385, AK5386, AK5397, AK5534) to be affected, but in fact, the factory produced far more than that.
“Every AKM part we use—ADCs, DACs, ASRCs and Receivers—is made exclusively in the Nobeoka plant,” said Millennia’s La Grou. “Of course, all AKM audio parts immediately disappeared from front-line distributors [such as] Digikey, Mouser, etc. And now the after-market brokers are selling AKM parts at horrific mark-ups. We saw one $5 AKM part being offered at $110 each.”
Millennia Media is hardly the only pro-audio manufacturer affected by the AKM fire, however. Numerous well-known brands use AKM chips in their products, such as SPL of Germany’s new Control One and Marc One monitor controllers, introduced just last week; Solid State Logic’s popular SSL 2+ USB interface; RME’s ADI-2 Pro AD/DA Converter; multiple Merging Technologies Horus & Hapi and Anubis AD/DA interfaces; miniDSP’s SHD streaming audio processor; and others.
“There’s a rumor that AKM will pivot their IC masks to independent fab houses,” La Grou noted hopefully, “so perhaps we’ll see some AKM devices before the main plant is again operational.”
Fire broke out at AKM factory in Japan – SemiMedia.
AKM Factory Fire—A Pro-Audio Industry Disaster | ProSoundNetwork.com
Nobeoka City, Japan (October 29, 2020)—In the wake of a massive three-day fire at the Nobeoka City factory of semiconductor producer Asahi Kasei Microsystems (AKM), pro-audio manufacturers around the globe are now facing anticipated shortages of crucial DAC and ADC chips used in their products. “It’s probably the most disruptive event in my 40 years of audio industry experience,” said John La Grou, CEO of Millennia Media. “Devastating is not too strong a word. Can 2020 get any worse?”
Millennia is just one of many high-end pro-audio companies with major products designed around AKM chips; others include Solid State Logic, TASCAM, miniDSP, Merging Technologies, SPL of Germany and RME, to name only a few.
The AKM fire broke out at the semiconductor manufacturing plant on Tuesday, October 20, and took three days to put out. While no one was hurt, reportedly 400 employees were evacuated when it began. Parts of the building structure, including sections of walls and the roof, collapsed on October 22 after another fire broke out on the factory’s fifth floor. Throughout the blaze, a chemical odor emanated from the building, thought to be hydrogen chloride generated by the coatings of electrical cables on fire.
Ultimately, the blaze was extinguished around midnight on October 23, a full 82 hours after it began. According to IC industry news site SemiMedia, the entire factory is now offline and is expected to take a minimum of six months to restore production.
Chinese semiconductor distributor CGoC Industrial Electronics publicly noted that it expects various AKM DAC series (AK4332, AK4331, AK4432, AK4382, AK4385, AK4373, AK4396, AK4431, AK4456, AK4490, AK4493, AK4495) and possibly ADC series (AK5384, AK5385, AK5386, AK5397, AK5534) to be affected, but in fact, the factory produced far more than that.
“Every AKM part we use—ADCs, DACs, ASRCs and Receivers—is made exclusively in the Nobeoka plant,” said Millennia’s La Grou. “Of course, all AKM audio parts immediately disappeared from front-line distributors [such as] Digikey, Mouser, etc. And now the after-market brokers are selling AKM parts at horrific mark-ups. We saw one $5 AKM part being offered at $110 each.”
Millennia Media is hardly the only pro-audio manufacturer affected by the AKM fire, however. Numerous well-known brands use AKM chips in their products, such as SPL of Germany’s new Control One and Marc One monitor controllers, introduced just last week; Solid State Logic’s popular SSL 2+ USB interface; RME’s ADI-2 Pro AD/DA Converter; multiple Merging Technologies Horus & Hapi and Anubis AD/DA interfaces; miniDSP’s SHD streaming audio processor; and others.
“There’s a rumor that AKM will pivot their IC masks to independent fab houses,” La Grou noted hopefully, “so perhaps we’ll see some AKM devices before the main plant is again operational.”
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ESS does not have a fab and only use foundries (UMC).
AKM can also, I am sure.
Audio chips won't need 7nm processes.
Patrick
AKM can also, I am sure.
Audio chips won't need 7nm processes.
Patrick
If the performance depends on the process node/method then a fab house might not be good enough? Plus the costs associated with it, which must be higher than using their existing process (well before it burned down).
AKM are specialist in mixed signal Fab technology - it will really not easy or swift to qualify a new fab line.
I really do not see any practical options for AKM WRT finding a temporary mixed signal vendor - even the in-house IC design tools are optimized hand in hand with the Fab process... you spin a few wafers gradually closing / understanding the gap between your development tools results and real results from the fab line... It takes years of experience to gain confidence...
You cannot compare CMOS digital with mixed signal process lines... ESS are hardly what I call a mixed signal process, they are in fact CMOS with great care taken during the layout of the CMOS output buffers / resistors to form the DAC array - its not in ANYWAY mixed signal as with AKM devices.
In the early days, AKM had dual die parts before they could bridge the performance gap with mixed signal line... it takes great expense and time to qualify your development tools and line
Knowing the extreme sensitivity to fab process variations, I really cannot see how they can "quickly" re-qualify a newly built fab line - it will be new / updated equipment which will take time to "calibrate" understand the process effects.... heart breaking for them and the industry...
Pure digital CMOS is so MUCH easier!!!
A design I've been working on (for many years) uses pure digital parts from AKM (AK4137) which will be easier to fab on an external line... so I hope they might consider this, but manpower going to be a serous issue with engineers working on rebuilding the replacement line... and then having to qualify it...
I really do not see any practical options for AKM WRT finding a temporary mixed signal vendor - even the in-house IC design tools are optimized hand in hand with the Fab process... you spin a few wafers gradually closing / understanding the gap between your development tools results and real results from the fab line... It takes years of experience to gain confidence...
You cannot compare CMOS digital with mixed signal process lines... ESS are hardly what I call a mixed signal process, they are in fact CMOS with great care taken during the layout of the CMOS output buffers / resistors to form the DAC array - its not in ANYWAY mixed signal as with AKM devices.
In the early days, AKM had dual die parts before they could bridge the performance gap with mixed signal line... it takes great expense and time to qualify your development tools and line
Knowing the extreme sensitivity to fab process variations, I really cannot see how they can "quickly" re-qualify a newly built fab line - it will be new / updated equipment which will take time to "calibrate" understand the process effects.... heart breaking for them and the industry...
Pure digital CMOS is so MUCH easier!!!
A design I've been working on (for many years) uses pure digital parts from AKM (AK4137) which will be easier to fab on an external line... so I hope they might consider this, but manpower going to be a serous issue with engineers working on rebuilding the replacement line... and then having to qualify it...
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AKM Fire
The AKM factory has been destroyed by a fire, at least 6 months before any new parts
AKM Factory Fire—A Pro-Audio Industry Disaster | ProSoundNetwork.com
The AKM factory has been destroyed by a fire, at least 6 months before any new parts
AKM Factory Fire—A Pro-Audio Industry Disaster | ProSoundNetwork.com
Already an active thread here : AKM Factory fire - will have a terrible impact on the audio indusrty
John is correct, mixed signal is extremely process tuned, we used to have a mixed signal IC business in Racal 20+ years ago.
They are also a big player in magnetic sensors, presumably for the automotive ABS and engine sensor market. Chaos for the next 6 months.
They are also a big player in magnetic sensors, presumably for the automotive ABS and engine sensor market. Chaos for the next 6 months.
fire at AKM factory
Got this from Ralph, maker of the Aurora DSP
AKM Factory Fire—A Pro-Audio Industry Disaster | ProSoundNetwork.com
Luckily, we are talking about regular CMOS rather than BiCMOS or thin film with laser trimming, so hopefully they can switch to foundries. Still a major disaster for the numerous small companies offering decent DACs these days. At least on the high end, CS and TI seem to have given up, so AKM and ever difficult ESS are the ones pushing frontiers. And even AKM has been slipping, with the obsolete AK5394A beeing the pinnacle of low distortion ADCs and later offerings optimized for S/N rather than distortion.
Got this from Ralph, maker of the Aurora DSP
AKM Factory Fire—A Pro-Audio Industry Disaster | ProSoundNetwork.com
Luckily, we are talking about regular CMOS rather than BiCMOS or thin film with laser trimming, so hopefully they can switch to foundries. Still a major disaster for the numerous small companies offering decent DACs these days. At least on the high end, CS and TI seem to have given up, so AKM and ever difficult ESS are the ones pushing frontiers. And even AKM has been slipping, with the obsolete AK5394A beeing the pinnacle of low distortion ADCs and later offerings optimized for S/N rather than distortion.
Now I saw photos. Seems that last floor burned only?
I dont know the configurations of the factories that type, I hope that they will back in the tracks soon and that is no vital production line damaged?
I dont know the configurations of the factories that type, I hope that they will back in the tracks soon and that is no vital production line damaged?
Multiple threads merged and moved.