Imperfect microchips cost chip makers millions of dollars a year. Up to half of the chips cut from each silicon wafer can be duds, but it’s so expensive to identify individual faults that most are thrown away. To cut down on this wastage, Finnish communications company Nokia plans to divide the circuitry in each chip into around 100 blocks, which can quickly be checked for faults. Any defective chips will then be sorted into batches with faults in the same blocks (GB 2367655). The chips can then run specially adapted software that doesn’t use the damaged areas of the chips.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Google shouldn’t be pressuring schools to use its AI
91ɫÇéƬ
Technology
Australia’s social media ban faces high court challenge
News
Technology
The nuclear waste repository in Finland designed to outlast modern civilisation
Features
Technology
How did the biggest crypto heist in history just happen?
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles