Aim to Produce 2-nm Chips in Japan from 2025
The United States and Japan had a meeting in Washington, D.C. and released a joint statement on July 29, saying that they would further their cooperation in the semiconductor, EV battery and mineral industries.
According to the Nikkei, the cooperation in the semiconductor industry is likely to include the opening of an advanced semiconductor R&D center in Japan within this year. “The University of Tokyo will join the center to conduct research on chips with a circuit line width of 2 nm or less so that mass production in Japan can start in 2025,” it said.
According to the newspaper, the United States released the joint statement in order to be prepared for the possibility of China’s invasion of Taiwan. “At present, Taiwanese foundries such as TSMC account for more than 90 percent of the global advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity,” it explained, adding, “The intention of the United States is to avoid the geopolitical risk by combining its design and development capabilities with Japan’s strength in equipment and materials.”
According to experts, the closer cooperation between the United States and Japan may threaten South Korea’s position in the global semiconductor industry. Samsung Electronics is currently manufacturing the world’s first 3-nm foundry product, and yet the United States opted to work with Japan in 2-nm chip development. The manufacturing of the gate-all-around-based 3-nm product started on July 25 and TSMC is planning to produce the same product in the second half of this year.