Samsung has ten months to get its 2nm process yielding if it is to see a recovery in its foundry business, reports the Korean newspaper Chosun.

Samsung’s 3nm process, its first GAA process, has suffered from poor yields – said to be around 10% – since it was first put into production in 2022.

However, according to Chosun, trial production on 2nm of Samsung’s latest Exynos processor is yielding at 30% which is a considerable improvement on 3nm yields

However, the biggest improvements in yield take place at the beginning of the ramp, so Samsung may be finding its yield improvement rate dropping into single digits per month at this stage.

IMG_0586-150x145.jpegBy contrast, before Christmas, TSMC’s 2nm process was reported to be yielding at 60%. If Samsung wants to win major foundry customers, it has to show yields matching TSMC’s, and it is estimated that it has a ten months window before market forces will require it to show potential customers that it has a commercially yielding 2nm process in production.

The process issue has caused a drop in Samsung’s foundry market share. In 2019, Samsung held a 16% foundry market share, which decreased to 10% by 2024. By Q4 2024 that had increased to 13%. TSMC’s Q4 market share was 62%.

Samsung Foundry is currently installing equipment for 2nm processing at its 3nm fab in Hwaseong for a capacity of 15k wpm and hopes to start test production there by the end of the year.

With Intel drawing a veil over the yields on its equivalent 18A process, it remains a moot point whether, in 2026, the industry will only have one company capable of manufacturing at the leading edge

By: DocMemory
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