The High Temple of Chips - 261

The National Academy of Science* tells us the most rapid path to decarbonization is to power the grid with wind, solar, nuclear, or other non-fossil fuel-burning generation. I could justify this column to this end, but I am writing about chips (those without salsa) because it is an interesting diversion.

Chips, sometimes called semiconductor wafers or miniature electronic switches are now in nearly everything electronic. They are in satellite dishes, cars, computers, mobile phones, medical equipment, and high-tech military equipment.

The USA became keenly aware of our unacceptable chip situation during COVID when the supply chain failed and our industries, such as our vehicle manufacturers, had to shut down their assembly lines. We simply did not have enough domestic capacity. Our once dominant semi-conductor industry now commands only 12% of the world’s production. The big producers are on the other side of the Pacific in South Korea, China, or located on the island of science big dogs, Taiwan.

In the May edition of Wired Magazine Virginia Heffernan captivatingly writes about her trip to Taiwan, current politics, and her tour of the inner sanctums of the high temple of microprocessing, Taiwan Semi-Conductor Manufacturing Company, TSMC.

The evolution of micro-processing has been nothing short of spectacular. Computers or cell phones bring us information by making thousands of decisions in nanoseconds. What large mainframe computers once did, laptops and cell phones do today thanks to miniature electronic wafers. The decision trees of computers are an electronic series of “Logic Gates” embedded within these chips. In the 1960s transistor logic gates shrunk the space and weight drastically. In the 60s scientists and engineers could jam four transistors onto a space the size of your thumbnail. Today, TMSC can fit 2.6 trillion logic gates onto one thumbnail-sized wafer. I dare you to try to understand how enormous 2.6 trillion is and how something man-made can be put in such a small device.

While our new clean power production and the grid will need state-of-the-art electronics my personal concern, being a retired US military officer, is keeping our military hardware the best. Our military systems, in the age of drones and hypersonic missiles, must be able to acquire, track, identify, and accurately deploy lethal weapons almost instantaneously. If you are slow, you are dead.

Luckily, we are taking the first small steps necessary to rebuild our industrial base to be competitive and secure. Thanks to the Chips and Science Act, recently signed into law by President Biden, we now have 52.7 billion dollars earmarked to jumpstart the US industry. Intel, our biggest US chip maker, is building a new plant in Ohio.

What about TMSC the undisputed preeminent leader? As you probably know Taiwan is a free and democratic island nation sitting offshore from totalitarian communist China. The Chi-coms repeatedly threaten to absorb Taiwan by force.

You may also be aware that both Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy have had high-profile provocative meetings with key Taiwanese officials. These controversial meetings, which have angered the Chi-coms, have been backed up by the presence of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet.

Keeping the 7th Fleet on alert and mission ready to defend Taiwan is expensive. What is the USA getting in return? TMSC has agreed to build a 12-billion-dollar fabrication plant, (chip fabrication plants are called “fabs” I had to learn). This plant in Phoenix, Arizona will employ 10,000 Americans and turn out 20,000 wafers per month.

Will this be enough of an investment? China’s chip czar has a trillion dollars in his coffers to speed up Communist China’s advance in chips.

Now, thanks to our professional diplomacy by the Biden lead State Department, we are forging stronger ties with our free-nation allies across the Pacific. Being the indisputable leader in this vital electronic component has made Taiwan our vitally important ally. Their ability to make themselves so important to us was not by chance. Here are three reasons:

First, the Taiwanese place a high emphasis on science and math in their K-12 education. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development places them at 5th in math and 11th in science while US students are ranked 38th and 19th respectively. The Taiwanese workforce is highly educated. If we want to earn their investment in the future, we must ramp up our K-12 education. Or, if we cannot, we need to import foreign talent.

Second, the Taiwanese are motivated. They know to remain free they must be indispensable because by being indispensable, they will be protected by the USA. The men and women of TSMC are driven by the desire to be the best.

Third, the ascendency of TSMC was not by chance. The Taiwanese government financially backed the microchip business. The Taiwanese government made strategic cooperative alliances and funded private industry investments in research, development, and production.  **

Here, then, is the roadmap to scientific success for our kids and industrial and military security for our nation.  Improve our education system. Support motivated kids who excel. And strategically fund businesses vital to our national interests.

The Chips and Science Act along with the climate bill called the Inflation Reduction Act are a good start, but only a start. In order to stay strong, we must vote smart.

Ref. 1 Accelerating Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy System, National Academies Press

Ref. 2 Sciencedirect.com, Elsevier, Energy Policy. “A

Troublesome Legacy: The Reagan Administration's Conservation and Renewable Energy Policy”

 Like the Taiwanese with chips, the US Government supported cutting-edge Wind Turbine technology until Ronald Reagan was elected. He cut renewable energy R&D by 85%. The government of Denmark blew new life into wind turbine technology by funding R&D and start-ups. This has become a hugely profitable investment as their wind turbine industry is successful. Ref: New York Times: “Danish Windpower Keeps Battling Climate Change” May 2023

Ref. 3 Wired Magazine, “I Saw the Face of God in a Chip Factory”, May 2023.

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