« back

Stock in the Chip Shortage

Author: perry

The Chip Shortage Is Real. #

There’s no doubt about it. From decades-long lead times to maximum-stock limits on popular chips, the effect of the global pandemic on supply chains is being felt worldwide.

In the midst of such n serious silicon scarcity, what is the humble hobbyist to do?

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome


Finding Stock in a Stockless World #

We’ve all felt it by now, the seemingly endless hours of scrolling, searching, trying new filters, only to see the last few items of that seemingly perfect component snatched by an unseen hand. Finding stock is hard enough without a global chip shortage, so here’s a few tips for getting those parts you still need:

  1. Search every supplier you can
    DigiKey, Mouser, Arrow, Newark, anyone you can get search terms in.
    Alternatively, search octopart for many distributors at once.

  2. Don’t restrict yourself to one package
    Many components come in a range of package styles, such as a mixture of SOIC and USON/WSON for flash chips, or QFPs & QFNs for most microcontrollers. Apart from their footprints & dimensions, these part variants often have the same pin assignments as their package relatives, and can be directly swapped in (albeit, with a change of footprint) in lieu of other stock.

  3. If all else fails, find pin-compatible replacements
    Some components just don’t have alternate packages, or maybe they’re out of stock too. In that case, you might be able to find similar components using a supplier’s parametric search tool. Some suppliers, like DigiKey most recently, even offer suggestions for replacements in clear view when searched components have no stock. A mixture of compatible replacements and different packages may have luck too.


Sometimes, failure is inevitable. #

No matter how far you search or how many alternatives you consider, there are a number of specialized or otherwise hard-to-find components that are just simply unavailable in the current state of the supply chain. Some designs can be reworked to accomodate different solutions, but some will just have to wait, and hope, for the shortage to end soon.

imu, arduino