3nm
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. released its Q4'2023 and full year 2023 financial results this week. And along with a look at the financial state of the firm as it enters 2024, the company's earnings info also offers a fresh look at the utilization of their various fab nodes. Of particular interest, with TSMC ramping up production of chips on its N3 (3 nm-class) process technology, N3 (aka N3B) has already reached the point where it accounts for 15% of TSMC's revenue in Q4 2023. This is a very fast – albeit not record fast – revenue ramp. In the fourth quarter of 2023, sales of wafers processed using N3 accounted for 15% of TSMC's total wafer revenue, whereas revenue of N5 and N7 accounted for...
Samsung's Next-Gen 3nm and 4nm Nodes on Track for Mass Production in 2H 2024
Samsung is set to start making chips using its 2nd Generation 3nm-class (SF3) manufacturing technology as well as performance-enhanced version of its 4nm-class (SF4X) fabrication process in the second...
9 by Anton Shilov on 11/2/2023TSMC Q3 Earnings: 3nm Production Node Accounts for 6% of Revenue
Although Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. formally started production of chips using its N3 (3nm-class) process technology back in late 2022, the company did not recognize any meaningful N3 revenue...
7 by Anton Shilov on 10/19/2023Samsung Lines Up First Server Customer For 3nm Fabs
Although Samsung Foundry was the first contract fab to formally start mass production of chips on a 3 nm-class process, so far, the company's latest process has largely been...
5 by Anton Shilov on 10/12/2023TSMC: Importance of Open Innovation Platform Is Growing, Collaboration Needed for Next-Gen Chips
This year TSMC is commemorating 15 years of its Open Innovation Platform, a multi-faceted program that brings together the foundry's suppliers, partners, and customers to help TSMC's customers better...
4 by Anton Shilov on 10/12/2023Dozens of Companies Adopt TSMC's 3nm Process Technology
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...
9 by Anton Shilov on 7/28/2023Samsung 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 6/30/2022