Samsung announced its next-generation process technology, a 10nm FinFET node, at a company event here. The announcement comes a month after Samsung detailed its 14nm process.

Samsung was shy on specs, but said the process node will be in full production by the end of 2016, about the same time as its rival TSMC. The Samsung 10nm process offers “significant power, area, and performance advantages” and targets a broad range of markets, said foundry senior vice president Hong Hao.

“This is one of the biggest positive steps for the industry in the last few years. It shows that Samsung sets these very aggressive goals, and they may not hit them exactly but they will be very close,” International Business Strategies CEO Handel Jones told EE Times. “If they can achieve 10nm, that will be hugely disruptive.”

Apple will play a large role in determining the 10nm leader because of its massive wafer volumes, Jones said. The company orders 40,000 wafers per month, which would significantly help fill a fab but also require $8 billion in capital expenditures from a chip maker.

Samsung is expected to make Apple's iPhone 7 SoC in its 14nm process, in large part because it beat TSMC to market by several months. Jones said Samsung has a high probability of getting Apple’s 2016 and 2017 business in 10nm, which will be followed by business from second-largest volume purchaser Qualcomm.

“The only customer that will really drive [high wafer volumes] is Apple. If you miss the big ones then you basically have a big problem,” Jones added.

While Intel has been silent on 10nm thus far, Jones believes the company is “ahead of everyone in 10nm development” but is keeping tight lipped. This is likely a marketing issue, Jones speculated -- Intel’s 14nm announcement was recent enough that an announcement about 10nm may slow buying at 14nm.

By: DocMemory
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