TSMC gears up for mass production of 3-nanometre chips for high-end computers and 5G phones
- iPhone maker Apple, 5G chip developer Qualcomm and graphics processing unit giant Nvidia will be among the first clients to use TSMC’s latest technology
- TSMC reported record sales last year on robust demand for chips used in 5G smartphones, notebooks and high-performance computers
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s biggest contract chip maker, is gearing up to roll out its newest chip production process, enabling the development of integrated circuits that speed up the performance of consumer electronics devices without sacrificing battery life.
Risk production means TSMC has developed basic production formulas and the process has passed reliability tests. The 3-nanometre process will enter volume production in 2022, a TSMC spokeswoman said, followed by the roll-out of a 2-nanometre process on an undisclosed schedule.
“We do believe that many customers and diverse applications can leverage the advanced technology to unleash innovation,” the spokeswoman said.
The 3-nm process allows 250 million transistors per square nanometre while 2-nm technology will enable more than 310 million transistors to be packed into the same area, said Tseng Guan-wei, an analyst with Taipei-based market research firm TrendForce. Higher transistor counts can lower power consumption while maintaining speed or boost performance with the same power usage, Tseng said.