As TSMC according to the Taiwan Industry Service DigiTimes in the course of the announcement of its latest business figures, the company intends to start mass production of its so-called “N3” chips from the second half of 2022. The tried-and-tested FinFET transistors are used in order to offer customers a tried-and-tested approach with correspondingly good performance and the lowest possible costs.
FinFET instead of GAAFET
Unlike Samsung, TSMC does not rely on the so-called gate all-around transistors (GAA). The South Korean competitor announced just last week that it wants to offer the first chips based on its own 3nm technologies from the first half of 2022. Among other things, Samsung promises that the new chips will work around 30 percent more efficiently than its current 5nm chips, while taking up around 35 percent less space.
TSMC also intends to begin mass production of its second generation of such products, dubbed “N3E,” about a year after the first 3-nanometer chips. This is an upgraded version of TSMC’s 3-nanometer manufacturing process that optimizes manufacturing while promising further increases in energy efficiency and yield in mass production.
According to TSMC boss CC Wei, the company sees the world’s most advanced foundry technology in its N3 and N3E nodes, also in terms of the type of transistors. The company says it will be working with the N3 family for a long time and on a large scale. It was said that there was already great interest in the new, even smaller chips.
TSMC is currently Apple’s most important partner, because the chip manufacturer from Taiwan produces practically all the processors built into iOS devices. At least in theory, Apple could switch to chips with a structure width of only three nanometers with the next iPhone generation if TSMC succeeds in implementing its schedule for the start of 3nm mass production in good time.
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