TSMC
When TSMC initially introduced its N2 (2 nm class) process technology earlier this month, the company outlined how the new node would be built on the back of two new cutting-edge fab techniques: gate-all-around transistors, and backside power rails. But, as we've since learned from last week's EU symposium, TSMC's plans are a bit more nuanced than first announced. Unlike some of their rivals, TSMC will not be implementing both technologies in the initial version of their N2 node. Instead, the first iteration of N2 will only be implementing gate-all-around transistors, with backside power delivery to come with a later version of the node. So far, TSMC has mentioned two distinctive features of N2: nano sheet gate-all-around (GAA) transistors, and backside power rails. GAA transistors...
TSMC Radically Boosts CapEx to Expand Production Capacities, To Reach $14B For 2019
Forecasting strong demand for its 5 nm and 7 nm class process technologies in the coming years, TSMC has announced that it's increasing its capital expenditure for 2019 by...
18 by Anton Shilov on 10/18/2019Samsung & TSMC Develop 8nm & 7nm Automotive-Grade Nodes
As vehicles are getting ‘smarter’ and gaining autopilot capabilities, it is easy to predict that the demand for higher-performing and more complex automotive SoCs will be growing rapidly in...
29 by Anton Shilov on 10/14/2019TSMC: N7+ EUV Process Technology in High Volume, 6nm (N6) Coming Soon
TSMC announced on Monday that its customers have started shipping products based on chips made by TSMC using its N7+ (2nd Generation 7 nm with EUV) process technology that...
27 by Anton Shilov on 10/8/2019TSMC Counter-sues GlobalFoundries: Accuses US Fab of Infringing Patents Across Numerous Process Nodes
In a not-unexpected move, TSMC late on Monday filed a lawsuit against GlobalFoundries, its pure-play foundry rival, accusing the manufacturer of patent infringment. In the suit, a response to...
24 by Anton Shilov on 10/1/2019Arm & TSMC Showcase 7nm Chiplet, Eight A72 at 4GHz on CoWoS Interposer
Arm and TSMC this week unveiled their jointly developed proof-of-concept chip that combines two quad-core Cortex-72-based 7 nm chiplets on TSMC’s Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) interposer. The two chips are connected...
26 by Anton Shilov on 9/27/2019TSMC Responds to Lawsuit by GlobalFoundries: Allegations Are Baseless
TSMC has responded to GlobalFoundries accusations of patents infringements. The world’s largest foundry said that it would defend itself in courts and that it considered allegations as baseless. The...
62 by Anton Shilov on 8/27/2019GlobalFoundries Sues TSMC Over Patent Infringement; Apple, Qualcomm, Others Named Defendants
GlobalFoundries has filed a lawsuit against TSMC and its clients in the USA and Germany alleging the world’s largest contract maker of semiconductors of infringing 16 of its patents...
97 by Anton Shilov on 8/26/2019Hot Chips 31 Keynote Day 2: Dr. Phillip Wong, VP Research at TSMC (1:45pm PT)
The keynote for the second day is from TSMC, with Dr. Phillip Wong taking the stage to talk about the latest developments in TSMC's research and portfolio. The talk...
12 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 8/20/2019Hot Chips 31 Live Blogs: Intel Spring Crest NNP-T on 16nm TSMC
Intel is showing us some of the design features of its new ML training product, Spring Crest.
4 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 8/19/2019TSMC Announces Performance-Enhanced 7nm & 5nm Process Technologies
TSMC has quietly introduced a performance-enhanced version of its 7 nm DUV (N7) and 5 nm EUV (N5) manufacturing process. The company’s N7P and N5P technologies are designed for...
36 by Anton Shilov on 7/30/2019TSMC: 3nm EUV Development Progress Going Well, Early Customers Engaged
Development of new fabrication technologies never stops at leading-edge companies such as TSMC. Therefore, it is not surprising to hear the annoucement that development of TSMC’s 3nm node is...
76 by Anton Shilov on 7/23/2019TSMC: Most 7nm Clients Will Transition to 6nm
In this week's quarterly earnings conference call, TSMC’s revealed that the company expects most of its 7nm "N7" process customers to eventually transition to its forthcoming 6nm "N6" manufacturing...
39 by Anton Shilov on 5/1/2019TSMC: No Plans to Buy Rivals at The Moment
Although TSMC expects demand for chips to increase going forward and despite an ongoing trend towards consolidation on the foundry market, the company has commented that it currently has...
4 by Anton Shilov on 4/22/2019TSMC Reveals 6 nm Process Technology: 7 nm with Higher Transistor Density
TSMC this week unveiled its new 6 nm (CLN6FF, N6) manufacturing technology, which is set to deliver a considerably higher transistor density when compared to the company's 7 nm...
23 by Anton Shilov on 4/17/2019TSMC’s 5nm EUV Making Progress: PDK, DRM, EDA Tools, 3rd Party IP Ready
TSMC this week has said that it has completed development of tools required for design of SoCs that are made using its 5 nm (CLN5FF, N5) fabrication technology. The...
33 by Anton Shilov on 4/5/2019TSMC’s Fab 14B Photoresist Material Incident: $550 Million in Lost Revenue
TSMC on Friday revealed more details regarding an incident with a photoresist material at its Fab 14B earlier this year. The contaminated chemical damaged wafers on TSMC’s 12 nm...
29 by Anton Shilov on 2/20/2019TSMC Chip Yields Hit By Bad Chemical Batch
TSMC on Monday said that some of the wafers it has processed recently have lower yields because of a chemical it uses during production. The company began investigation and...
28 by Anton Shilov on 1/29/2019ASML to Ship 30 EUV Scanners in 2019: Faster EUV Tools Coming
ASML said last week that it planned to ship 30 extreme ultraviolet scanners in 2019, up significantly from 2018. The plan is not surprising, as demand for EUV lithography...
17 by Anton Shilov on 1/28/2019TSMC: 7nm Now Biggest Share of Revenue
As process node technology gets ever more complex, it costs big dollars to develop and then building chips on the process is also a very costly process. The big...
44 by Ian Cutress on 1/17/2019TSMC: First 7nm EUV Chips Taped Out, 5nm Risk Production in Q2 2019
Last week, TSMC made two important announcements concerning its progress with extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). First up, the company has successfully taped out its first customer chip using its...
50 by Anton Shilov on 10/9/2018