Bringing Samsung's Technological Prowess into Relief
TSMC has once again postponed mass production of 3-nm chips by three months, bringing into relief the technological prowess of Samsung Electronics that has already started mass production of 3-nm chips.
TSMC said in a recent conference call that mass production of 3-nm chips will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, with a high yield.
Taiwanese media outlets have thus far reported that TSMC would start mass production of 3-nm chips around the end of September. However, TSMC put off mass production of 3-nm chips for another three months. It said the main reason for the delay was that customers’ demand exceeded its supply capacity due to an equipment delivery problem. It added that its 3-nm production lines will be fully operational next year.
TSMC started mass production using a 7-nm process in the second quarter of 2018 and a 5-nm process in the second quarter of 2020, respectively. It has thus far migrated to the next level of foundry technology every two years, but it needs more time to launch a 3-nm process.
TSMC said in a conference call in the second quarter of last year that migration to a 3-nm process will take three to four months more time compared to the launch of a 5-nm process.
Under these circumstances, Samsung Electronics’ success in mass production of 3-nm chips is once again drawing attention from the world semiconductor industry. Samsung officially announced volume production of 3-nm chips on June 30 and shipped its first mass-produced 3-nm chips on July 25.