3nm
Designing chips for modern, leading-edge manufacturing technologies is an expensive endeavor. Still, dozens of companies have already adopted TSMCs N3 and N3E (3 nm-class) fabrication processes, according to disclosures made by TSMC and Synopsys. "Synopsys IP for TSMC's 3nm process has been adopted by dozens of leading companies to accelerate their development time, quickly achieve silicon success and speed their time to market," said John Koeter, senior vice president of marketing and strategy for IP at Synopsys. TSMC has been producing chips using its latest N3 (aka N3B) fabrication technology (with up to 25 EUV layers and support for EUV double patterning) since late 2022 and intends to start making products on its simplified N3E manufacturing process (with up to 19 EUV layers and without EUV...
Samsung Begins to Produce Third 3nm Chip Amid Massive Losses On DRAM & NAND
Samsung this week reported their financial results for the second quarter of 2023, closing the book on an especially bleak quarter of the year with a massive $3.4 billion...
14 by Anton Shilov on 7/28/2023TSMC: 3nm Chips for Smartphones and HPCs Coming This Year
While TSMC formally started mass production of chips on its N3 (3nm-class) process technology late last year, the company is set to finally ship the first revenue wafers in...
21 by Anton Shilov on 7/21/2023Samsung Shipping First GAAFET Silicon; 3nm and 4nm Yields Are Improving - Report
Currently, only two foundries offer their customers 3 nm and 4 nm-class process technologies: TSMC and Samsung Foundry. But business media sometimes blames Samsung Foundry for mediocre yields on...
5 by Anton Shilov on 7/18/2023Samsung Updates Foundry Roadmap: 2nm in 2025, 1.4nm in 2027
Samsung Foundry revealed its latest process technology roadmap today at its annual Samsung Foundry Forum (SFF) 2023. The company's SF2 (2 nm-class) production node is on track for 2025...
4 by Anton Shilov on 6/27/2023Samsung to Unveil Refined 3nm and Performance-Enhanced 4nm Nodes at VLSI Symposium
Samsung Foundry is set to detail its second generation 3 nm-class fabrication technology as well as its performance-enhanced 4 nm-class manufacturing process at the upcoming upcoming 2023 Symposium on...
3 by Anton Shilov on 5/10/2023Samsung Foundry Vows to Surpass TSMC Within Five Years
The head of Samsung's semiconductor unit acknowledged last week that the company's current mass production, leading-edge process technologies are a couple of years behind TSMC's most advanced production nodes...
18 by Anton Shilov on 5/8/2023TSMC Announces Early Access Nodes for Next-Gen Car Chips: N4AE and N3AE
As the final set of announcements from this week's North American Technology Symposium, TSMC closed out their fab roadmap updates with some fresh news on their automotive-centric processes. For...
10 by Anton Shilov on 4/28/2023TSMC Details 3nm Evolution: N3E On Schedule, N3P and N3X To Deliver 5% Performance Gains
Alongside some new announcements for their 2nm process node plans, TSMC has also released a progress and roadmap update for their N3 family process technologies at today's 2023 North...
13 by Anton Shilov on 4/26/2023Synopsys Intros AI-Powered EDA Suite to Accelerate Chip Design and Cut Costs
Synopsys has introduced the industry's first full-stack AI-powered suite of electronic design automation tools that covers all stages of chip design, from architecture to design and implementation to manufacturing...
12 by Anton Shilov on 3/30/2023Inflation Drives Up Fab Costs for Intel and Samsung by Billions of Dollars
To address future demand for semiconductors amid severe chip shortages of 2020 – 2022, all leading chipmakers announced plans to build new fabs and even disclosed their estimated costs...
15 by Anton Shilov on 3/16/2023TSMC's 3nm Journey: Slow Ramp, Huge Investments, Big Future
Last week, TSMC issued their Q4 and full-year 2022 earnings reports for the company. Besides confirming that TSMC was closing out a very busy, very profitable year for the...
30 by Anton Shilov on 1/17/2023TSMC Unveils Major U.S. Fab Expansion Plans: 3nm and $40 Billion by 2026
TSMC this week held its Arizona fab 'first tool-in' ceremony, where alongside celebrating its first US fab, the company also announced major expansion plans for the production facility. The...
17 by Anton Shilov on 12/7/2022TSMC and ASML: Demand for Chips Remains Strong, But Getting Fab Tools Is Hard
TSMC's revenue this year is going to set an all-time record for the company, thanks to high demand for chips as well as increased prices that its customers are...
13 by Anton Shilov on 7/21/2022Samsung Starts 3nm Production: The Gate-All-Around (GAAFET) Era Begins
Capping off a multi-year development process, Samsung’s foundry group sends word this morning that the company has officially kicked off production on its initial 3nm chip production line. Samsung’s...
22 by Ryan Smith on 6/30/2022TSMC Readies Five 3nm Process Technologies, Adds FinFlex For Design Flexibility
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Thursday kicked off its 2022 TSMC Technology Symposium, where the company traditionally shares it process technology roadmaps as well as its future expansion plans...
44 by Anton Shilov on 6/16/2022Applied Materials Outlines Next-Gen Tools for 3nm and GAA Transistor Era
Last month Samsung Foundry quietly announced that it was set to begin producing chips using its 3GAE (3 nm-class, gate-all-around transistors, early) process technology in the second quarter. While...
17 by Anton Shilov on 5/12/2022TSMC Roadmap Update: N3E in 2024, N2 in 2026, Major Changes Incoming
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has solid plans for the next few years, but the foundry's manufacturing technology design cycles are getting longer. As a result, to address all of...
21 by Anton Shilov on 4/22/2022TSMC Roadmap Update: 3nm in Q1 2023, 3nm Enhanced in 2024, 2nm in 2025
TSMC has introduced a brand-new manufacturing technology roughly every two years over the past decade. Yet as the complexity of developing new fabrication processes is compounding, it is getting...
32 by Anton Shilov on 10/18/2021Samsung Foundry: 2nm Silicon in 2025
One of the key semiconductor technologies beyond 3D FinFET transistors are Gate-All-Around transistors, which show promise to help extend the ability to drive processors and components to higher performance...
29 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 10/6/2021