How many chips are in a modern car? According to industry estimates, the average modern car sports between 1,400 and 1,500 semiconductors. Some cars boast as many as 3,000 chips. Staggering!
As SEMI President and CEO Ajit Manocha has noted, “automobiles have become semiconductors on wheels.”
Here are more fun facts from the SEMI Foundation that help illustrate the amazing world of microelectronics and the central role of chips in our lives:
- Semiconductors are a top-five U.S. export, after airplanes, refined oil, and automobiles. The world’s biggest importer of semiconductors is China, with the U.S. running a close second. In 2020, China spent more on semiconductors than it did on oil imports. Last year, China accounted for nearly a whopping one-third of all global semiconductor sales.
- Mussels may hold the key to an eco-friendly and sustainable way to recycle Neodymium (Nd), one of the most in-demand rare earth elements (REE). REEs are used to develop the next generation of magnetic medical devices and clean energy. By mimicking mussels’ natural stickiness, Penn State researchers have showed that REEs can be recovered from secondary sources such as industrial wastewater using very little energy to increase the availability of this critical material.
- Global R&D spending was forecast to reach over $2.47 trillion in 2022. If you converted US $1 trillion to pennies, and laid them end-to-end, the string of coins would stretch to the equivalent of 1.5 roundtrips between the earth and moon. In 2021, the global semiconductor industry spent US $80.5 billion in R&D, a figure expected to balloon to US $108.6 billion in 2026. In concatenated pennies, that’s 158x the height of Mount Everest. Towering!
Do you have a fun fact to share? We invite SEMI members to share fun facts about the industry or their company. We’ll consider your tidbits for inclusion in future blog articles and or posting on social media. Complete our survey form or email semifoundation@semi.org.
Learn more about the SEMI Foundation and its initiatives to promote industry awareness and help provide a path for those interested in rewarding careers in microelectronics.
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Margaret Kindling is Senior Program Manager for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the SEMI Foundation. She promotes inclusion and diversity through managing programming at the annual Women in Semiconductors and the SEMICON West Workforce Development Pavilion.