Ahead of TSMC

Samsung Electronics will begin mass production of 3-nm semiconductors next week for the first time in the world. 

Samsung Electronics is set to begin mass production of 3-nm semiconductors for the first time in the world. 

The company is expected to officially start mass-production of 3-nm chips based on the gate all round (GAA) transistor structure next week.

GAA is a new technology that improves performance while reducing chip size and power consumption compared to the conventional fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) technology. In May, U.S. President Joe Biden visited Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek Campus and signed a GAA-based 3-nano chip prototype.

Samsung Electronics has vowed to start mass production of GAA-based 3-nm chips before TSMC, the world's No. 1 foundry company. TSMC laid out a plan to mass-produce 3-nm semiconductors in the second half of this year.

Until recently, there have been concerns that Samsung Electronics may delay mass production of 3-nm chips due to a yield problem. However, the company dismissed the concerns, saying that there is no yield problem.

Analysts say that if Samsung Electronics starts mass production of 3-nm chips, it will be able to show corporate customers that it is ahead of TSMC in technology, thus strengthening its position in the foundry market. Samsung is determined to undermine TSMC’s foundry market dominance with its advanced ultra-micro fabrication technology.

Samsung has reportedly secured corporate customers that will buy chips from its 3-nm process.

The company believes that mass production of 3-nm chips will provide it with strong momentum to attain its goal of becoming the world’s top player in the field of system semiconductors.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced on the same day that it will invest an additional 300 billion won in the flip chip ball grid array (FCBGA) business. The company announced in December 2021 that it would invest 1.3 trillion won in its Vietnamese production subsidiary and said in March this year that 300 billion won will be invested in its Busan plant in Korea.

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