🐄🍪 An Intel Fab in Arizona was seeing a sharp decline in yields when producing their chips at night.
Engineers were really puzzled why between 1 and 2AM the yields were so bad.
Turned out that at night, the direction of the wind was changing. Methane, from cow farts from nearby dairy farms, ended up in the cleanrooms via the air conditioners.
Intel didn't figure out how to solve the problem, so they just paid the three neighbouring farms to move.
@fjFrédéric Jacobs oh this story reminds me of the semiconductor grade glass factory I was working at for awhile, where an issue Intel was having with our parts was hypothetically linked to the constant garbage smell emanating from the nearby landfills in “Smellypitas” where our plant was operating (Milpitas)
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