Nvidia Reports Thermal Issues Caused Packaging Failures

Nvidia Corp. said some of its notebook-use graphics chips have failed because of packaging materials that could not withstand the “extreme thermal environments” seen in notebook computers. The company will take a one-time charge of $150M-$200M during its second quarter.

Staff -- Semiconductor International, 7/3/2008 7:29:00 AM

Nvidia Corp. (Santa Clara, Calif.) said a thermal problem with packaging materials resulted in abnormally high rates of failure in the field for some of its notebook graphics chips, resulting in a one-time charge of $150M-$200M during its second quarter.

The company said it has “switched to a more robust die/package material set,” and is working with its customers to develop system management software that will provide better thermal management.

In a statement, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said, “Although the failure appears related to the combination of the interaction between the chip material set and system design, we have a responsibility to our customers and will take our part in resolving this problem.”

Huang said Nvidia will work more closely with notebook system designers and its chip foundries to improve the robustness of the products. Discussions are underway with its supply chain regarding the material set issue. Also, Nvidia will seek to recover some of its loss from insurance.

“Today's high-performance notebooks are highly complex systems with extreme thermal environments. The combination of limited thermal management and frequent power cycling is particularly challenging for complex processors like the GPU,” Huang said.