Semiconductors

While the bulk of attention on TSMC is aimed at its leading-edge nodes, such as N3E and N2, loads of chips will continue to be made using more mature and proven process technologies for years to come. Which is why TSMC has continued to refine its existing nodes, including its current-generation 5nm-class offerings. To that end, at its North American Technology Symposium 2024, the company introduced a new, optimized 5nm-class node: N4C. TSMC's N4C process belongs to the company's 5nm-class family of fab nodes and is a superset of N4P, the most advanced technology in that family. In a bid to further bring down 5nm manufacturing costs, for TSMC is implementing several changes for N4C, including rearchitecting their standard cell and SRAM cell, changing some...

Samsung Foundry Outlines Roadmap Through 2027: 1.4 nm Node, 3x More Capacity

Samsung outlined its foundry business roadmap for the next five years at its Foundry Forum event last week. The company plans to introduce its next generation fabrication technologies in...

14 by Anton Shilov on 10/10/2022

Micron Breaks Ground on Its $15 Billion EUV DRAM Fab in the U.S.

Micron this week broke ground on its leading-edge memory production facility near Boise, Idaho. The company will invest $15 billion in its new fab as a part of its...

23 by Anton Shilov on 9/14/2022

SK Hynix Starts Prepping for Next Semiconductor Boom with $11 Billion Memory Fab

When a major South Korean memory firm invests over $11 billion in a fab, that raises a couple of eyebrows. But when it comes within a major $100+ billion...

7 by Anton Shilov on 9/8/2022

Intel Kicks Off Fab Co-Investment Program with Brookfield: New Fabs to be Jointly Owned

Intel this week introduced its new Semiconductor Co-Investment Program (SCIP) under which it will build new manufacturing facilities in collaboration with investment partners – a sharp departure from the...

28 by Anton Shilov on 8/24/2022

Samsung's $15 Billion R&D Complex to Overcome Limits of Semiconductor Scaling

Samsung on Friday broke ground for a new semiconductor research and development complex which will design new fabrication processes for memory and logic, as well as conduct fundamental research...

26 by Anton Shilov on 8/19/2022

TSMC and ASML: Demand for Chips Remains Strong, But Getting Fab Tools Is Hard

TSMC's revenue this year is going to set an all-time record for the company, thanks to high demand for chips as well as increased prices that its customers are...

13 by Anton Shilov on 7/21/2022

Samsung Starts 3nm Production: The Gate-All-Around (GAAFET) Era Begins

Capping off a multi-year development process, Samsung’s foundry group sends word this morning that the company has officially kicked off production on its initial 3nm chip production line. Samsung’s...

22 by Ryan Smith on 6/30/2022

TSMC: N2 To Start With Just GAAFETs, Add Backside Power Delivery Later

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...

16 by Anton Shilov on 6/29/2022

TSMC to Customers: It's Time to Stop Using Older Nodes and Move to 28nm

We tend to discuss leading-edge nodes and the most advanced chips made using them, but there are thousands of chip designs developed years ago that are made using what...

20 by Anton Shilov on 6/29/2022

As HPC Chip Sizes Grow, So Does the Need For 1kW+ Chip Cooling

One trend in the high performance computing (HPC) space that is becoming increasingly clear is that power consumption per chip and per rack unit is not going to stop...

40 by Anton Shilov on 6/27/2022

TSMC to Expand Capacity for Mature and Specialty Nodes by 50%

TSMC this afternoon has disclosed that it will expand its production capacity for mature and specialized nodes by about 50% by 2025. The plan includes building numerous new fabs...

13 by Anton Shilov on 6/16/2022

TSMC Unveils N2 Process Node: Nanosheet-based GAAFETs Bring Significant Benefits In 2025

At its 2022 Technology Symposium, TSMC formally unveiled its N2 (2 nm class) fabrication technology, which is slated to go into production some time in 2025 and will be...

24 by Anton Shilov on 6/16/2022

TSMC Readies Five 3nm Process Technologies, Adds FinFlex For Design Flexibility

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Thursday kicked off its 2022 TSMC Technology Symposium, where the company traditionally shares it process technology roadmaps as well as its future expansion plans...

44 by Anton Shilov on 6/16/2022

ASML High-NA Development Update: Coming to Fabs in 2024 - 2025

It took the semiconductor industry over a decade to prep everything needed for production of chips using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. It looks like it is going to take...

8 by Anton Shilov on 5/26/2022

Applied Materials Outlines Next-Gen Tools for 3nm and GAA Transistor Era

Last month Samsung Foundry quietly announced that it was set to begin producing chips using its 3GAE (3 nm-class, gate-all-around transistors, early) process technology in the second quarter. While...

17 by Anton Shilov on 5/12/2022

TSMC Roadmap Update: N3E in 2024, N2 in 2026, Major Changes Incoming

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has solid plans for the next few years, but the foundry's manufacturing technology design cycles are getting longer. As a result, to address all of...

21 by Anton Shilov on 4/22/2022

AnandTech Interview with Dr. Ann Kelleher: EVP and GM of Intel’s Technology Development

It’s somewhat of an understatement to say that Intel’s future roadmap on its process node development is one of the most aggressive in the history of semiconductor design. The...

13 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 2/18/2022

A Visit to Intel’s D1X Fab: Next Generation EUV Process Nodes

On a recent trip to the US, I decided to spend some time criss-crossing the nation for a couple of industry events and spend some of the time visiting...

38 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 2/16/2022

Intel to Acquire Tower Semiconductor for $5.4B To Expand IFS Capabilities

Continuing their recent spending spree in expanding their foundry capabilities, Intel this morning has announced that it has struck a deal to acquire specialty foundry Tower Semiconductor for $5.4...

7 by Ryan Smith on 2/15/2022

Intel Announces Ohio Fab Complex: 2 New Fabs For $20B, And Space For More

With fab expansions on tap across the entire semiconductor industry, Intel today is laying out their own plans for significantly increasing their production capacity by announcing their intention to...

114 by Ryan Smith on 1/21/2022

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