Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has started commercial production of chips built using 7nm process technology, according to company CEO CC Wei. The foundry is also scheduled to move a newer 5nm node technology to mass production at the end of 2019 or early-2020, said Wei.

TSMC held its technology symposium in Taiwan on June 21 during which Wei made the remark to dismiss recent speculation claiming TSMC's 7nm production yield rate had been raised at a slower-than-expected pace.

The ramp-up of 7nm chip output will boost TSMC's overall production capacity to 12 million 12-inch equivalent wafers in 2018, up 9% from 10.5 million units in 2017, Wei indicated, without elaborating on specific orders and customers.

TSMC will tape out more than 50 chip designs with its 7nm process technology by the end of 2018, Wei said. AI, GPU and cryptocurrency applications take up the majority of the tape-outs, followed by 5G and application processors.

TSMC will also start taping out chips built using an enhanced 7nm node with EUV in the second half of 2018, Wei noted. The foundry expects to move the node to risk production in the third quarter.

Orders for Apple's custom A12 processor for use in the upcoming iPhones will play a major driver of TSMC's 7nm chip production growth in 2018, according to market sources. The foundry has secured 7nm chip orders from about 20 customers including AMD, Bitmain, Nvidia and Qualcomm. The majority of the orders will be carried out in the first half of 2019, the sources said.

As for TSMC's 5nm node, risk production is scheduled to kick off in the first half of 2019, followed by mass production at the end of the year or the beginning of 2020, Wei disclosed.

As high as US$25 billion will be invested in TSMC's 5nm production ramp-up, said Wei, without giving a specific timeframe.

TSMC's new 12-inch wafer fab at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP), Fab 18, will be engaged in the commercial production of what the company claims to be the industry's first 5nm process in 2020. TSMC's Fab 18 will also have the company's 3nm production facilities installed. "Our estimated investment in 5-nanometer technology is approximately NT$700 billion (US$24.04 billion), and total investment in Fab 18 will exceed NT$500 billion," said Morris Chang, who just retired as chairman of TSMC, in a company statement issued in January 2018.

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved