3nm

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 in Q1 and Q2. This week as part of the company's Q3 earnings announcement, the foundry finally recognized its first N3-related revenue, with N3 accounting for 6% of TSMC's Q3 revenue. Meanwhile, advanced nodes now account for 59% of TSMC's earnings. For their first quarter of significant 3nm revenue, TSMC booked roughly $1.03 billion in income for the new node. To put the number into generational context, TSMC recognized its first N5 revenue in Q3 2020, where back then the technology accounted for $0.97 billion in revenue making 5nm-class chips – or about 8% of TSMC's...

Samsung 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 10/12/2023

TSMC: 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 10/12/2023

Dozens 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 7/28/2023

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 7/28/2023

TSMC: 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 7/21/2023

Samsung 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 7/18/2023

Samsung 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 6/27/2023

Samsung 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 5/10/2023

Samsung 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 5/8/2023

TSMC 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 4/28/2023

TSMC 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 4/26/2023

Synopsys 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 3/30/2023

Inflation 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 3/16/2023

TSMC'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 1/17/2023

TSMC 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 12/7/2022

TSMC 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 7/21/2022

Samsung 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

TSMC 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 6/16/2022

Applied 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 5/12/2022

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