According to a report in Taiwanese media, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has received multiple orders for its 3 nanometer (3nm) chip fabrication technology. TSMC is scheduled to increase production of 3nm in the current half of this year, and the technology came to the center of controversy when it was reported earlier this month that the manufacturing process will face delays due to design changes for Intel Corporation’s products. TSMC denied the report and stated that process technologies are progressing as planned, and now Taiwanese publication DigiTimes reports that the firm has received orders from several different companies to manufacture its products with advanced technology.
Taiwanese Press Flock to Big Tech Companies TSMC’s 3nm Process
incoming report DigiTimes He cites resources at an integrated circuit design firm to share details of orders TSMC may have received for the 3nm process. Because high investment and installation costs can only be recovered when large numbers of semiconductor particle boards are produced, chipmakers must rely on a strong order list for their new processes. Machines used for advanced chip production are costly to run, and too few orders often result in underutilization of capacity, costing the chipmaker more money than the profit it will generate.
This has also sparked some controversy when Samsung Foundry, the chipmaking division of Korean chaebol Samsung Electronics, announced earlier this year that it is producing serial 3nm processors. The decision, seen as Samsung’s effort to leave TSMC behind, was followed by questions about possible orders the company may have taken for its products. One such order has been confirmed from a Chinese company, but details of others remain unclear.
DigiTimes reports that TSMC has received 3nm orders from several companies, with the leading companies being Cupertino, California consumer technology giant Apple, Inc and Santa Clara, California chipmaker Intel Corporation. Intel’s Collaboration with TSMC It has garnered significant media attention for 3nm and is the latest company on this front. reduced the 3nm process for some products.
It also reported that in addition to Intel and Apple, Taiwan’s MediaTek, NVIDIA, Broadcom, AMD and Qualcomm also placed orders for 3nm products. If true, it would give TSMC a strong advantage over Samsung as the company could rapidly increase its 3nm production and gain a large market share.
DigiTimes adds that it is believed to be interested in Samsung for 3nm chips as well, as Qualcomm prefers to diversify its suppliers and there are other business considerations to keep in mind when doing business with Samsung. Qualcomm is the world’s leading manufacturer of smartphone processors and competes with Samsung on this front, and the Korean company’s Exynos processors are targeting the same market as Qualcomm products.
Samsung and TSMC’s 3nm technologies differ from each other as they use different transistor designs. While TSMC prefers to stick with traditional FinFET technology for its products, Samsung has jumped on advanced GaaFET technology, which theoretically provides superior performance due to its high electrical conductivity.
