Friday, November 27th 2020

TSMC Completes Its Latest 3 nm Factory, Mass Production in 2022

They say that it is hard to keep up with Moore's Law, however, for the folks over at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), that doesn't seem to represent any kind of a problem. Today, to confirm that TSMC is one of the last warriors for the life of Moore's Law, we have information that the company has completed building its manufacturing facility for the next-generation 3 nm semiconductor node. Located in Southern Taiwan Science Park near Tainan, TSMC is expecting to start high-volume manufacturing of the 3 nm node in that Fab in the second half of 2022. As always, one of the first customers expected is Apple.

Estimated to cost an amazing 19.5 billion US Dollars, the Fab is expected to have an output of 55,000 300 mm (12-inch) wafers per month. Given that the regular facilities of TSMC exceed the capacity of over 100K wafers per month, this new facility is expected to increase the capacity over time and possibly reach the 100K level. The new 3 nm node is going to use the FinFET technology and will deliver a 15% performance gain over the previous 5 nm node, with 30% decreased power use and up to 70% density increase. Of course, all of those factors will depend on a specific design.
Source: Tom's Hardware
Add your own comment

56 Comments on TSMC Completes Its Latest 3 nm Factory, Mass Production in 2022

#26
okbuddy
they're dreaming, once intel is back in the circle THEY ARE DONE
Posted on Reply
#27
Aquinus
Resident Wat-man
lynx29If they can build a 3nm fab and it's already done, why build a 5nm one Arizona where construction just started... I don't care who the customer is, it doesn't make sense... lol
Cost and capacity. There are a lot of foundries that manufacture chips on bigger nodes. You don't do it unless you have a reason to because it costs money and time to go with the latest and greatest. A prime example are PCH chips and the IO chiplet on Ryzen CPUs. Bigger process than the cores, but that's okay.
Posted on Reply
#28
TheDeeGee
By 2022 i'm still looking to buy a 5800X and RTX 3070.
Posted on Reply
#29
medi01
okbuddythey're dreaming, once intel is back in the circle THEY ARE DONE
Dude, Intel was never in fab business.
Posted on Reply
#30
ARF
TheDeeGeeBy 2022 i'm still looking to buy a 5800X and RTX 3070.
Sounds trolling.
lynx29I still don't get it. If you are a for-profit business, then you go balls to the walls as soon as your engineers give you the thumbs up, and you rake in the $$$$$ If 3nm is greenlit, and it apparently is, then you go full pedal to the medal on it on a new construction project. The world doesn't have enough natural resources left to keep playing milking games.
Well, the vast portion of the global semiconductors manufacturing is done on NON-bleeding-edge manufacturing process.
Most is 14nm, 22nm, 32nm, etc.
Posted on Reply
#32
gmn 17
Moore’s law lives on with one more transistor shrink :)
Can we get to 1nm node?
Posted on Reply
#33
PowerPC
gmn 17Moore’s law lives on with one more transistor shrink :)
Can we get to 1nm node?
Basically the cost of designing leading node is doubling every two year. So we are seeing something like the inverse of Moore's Law. But yea, eventually we'll get there.
Posted on Reply
#34
DeathtoGnomes
bencrutzactually TSMC still have older nodes occupied pretty handsomely, see the blue and grey portion for their 300mm fabs:



there's a lot of things that won't benefit much on bleeding edge node, like analog circuit, RF etc
Maybe you missed what I was saying, once an order is complete these numbers will diminish unless new orders are made. Back filling orders included.
Posted on Reply
#35
bonehead123
gmn 17:)
Can we get to 1nm node?
Well, since those guys who built the pyramids have been on sub-sub-sub ym for the past 100 years or so, I would say YES, we can & then some ! hahahaha :)
Posted on Reply
#36
medi01
gmn 17Moore’s law lives on with one more transistor shrink :)
Can we get to 1nm node?
1nm TSMC is a given.
I mean, marketing name.
7N transistor size is 22nm mind you.
Intels 14nm is 24nm.
Posted on Reply
#37
TechLurker
lynx29If they can build a 3nm fab and it's already done, why build a 5nm one Arizona where construction just started... I don't care who the customer is, it doesn't make sense... lol
It's to get access to US government contracts as well as avoid some potential trade restrictions. The US has some strict rules on who can produce what electronics go into certain government sectors. IIRC, certain US military equipment have chips and the like produced on older but mature nodes strictly in US fabs. TSMC having a fairly modern node fab in America will help secure some of that juicy slice of the pie, as well as helping to shrink some of the less-vital components (the kinds that don't need to be as hardened as older nodes). Moreso for components that could use the efficiency gains to reduce power or improve performance, all in a smaller package.

In fact, TSMC's Arizona Fab is the only one on the leading edge (not bleeding edge; that's 3nm and smaller) in the US; Intel is the only other US foundry close enough with their 14+^14 nm, WIP 10nm, and planned 7nm nodes. GloFo's US fabs only go down to 14nm, after having given up on 7nm despite having more potential than TSMC's 7nm (mostly due to money and a lack of partner investment). The rest of the US fabs (TI, IXYS, Infineon, Medtronics, etc) are mostly for larger and older nodes, with Texas Instruments mostly dominating the US military market last I recall.
Posted on Reply
#38
TomTomTom
its official: TSMC does not "print chips", it prints money. :roll:
Posted on Reply
#39
cueman
interesting, 3nm tech is great and many manyfactor competitions thouse.
this time cash took more who get thouse 1st but also numbers of them.

amd .nvidia sure be 1st of line...i think nvidia is this time little bit wiser...
Posted on Reply
#40
RandallFlagg
ARFSounds trolling.



Well, the vast portion of the global semiconductors manufacturing is done on NON-bleeding-edge manufacturing process.
Most is 14nm, 22nm, 32nm, etc.
Most are not even that small. You don't need the expensive nodes for dishwashers, microwaves, cheap mp3 players and so on. Even the Raspberry Pi SoC, which is way way overkill for that kind of stuff, only recently moved to 28nm. Xilinx FPGAs were on 65nm, only this year moving some new models to 20nm. And that is a top tier FPGA vendor. I'd say like 90% of the market is 65nm and larger nodes.
Posted on Reply
#41
voltage
lynx29If they can build a 3nm fab and it's already done, why build a 5nm one Arizona where construction just started... I don't care who the customer is, it doesn't make sense... lol
I am looking forward to 3nm products. I am also looking forward to desktop workstations that will use 5nm. It was said many times 5nm will be used for pc's for a few years longer than it will be used for mobile. Mobile for obvious reasons takes advantage of smaller node's, more than desktop parts. or I should say there is more need for smaller nodes in mobile than desktop. either way, the near future tech looks interesting.
Posted on Reply
#42
LemmingOverlord
lynx29If they can build a 3nm fab and it's already done, why build a 5nm one Arizona where construction just started... I don't care who the customer is, it doesn't make sense... lol
A factory is just an empty building until you put manufacturing tools in it. This isn't a "3nm factory". This is a factory which is planned to host 3nm manufacturing tools and produce wafers at that level of etching. Possibly even 450mm wafers instead of 300mm. Likewise for Arizona. It's 5nm till they decide to re-tool for 3nm. By the time Arizona comes online (planned for 2024), 5nm will be commoditised, so it'll still serve customers that require more mainstream fabrication (maybe Intel will fail to produce 7nm and 5nm and outsource it to TSMC, who knows?). There will still be plenty of demand for 5nm... It just won't carry the premium you'd want it to.

I'd be worried that the plant simply does not come to pass, since Trump is no longer in charge and I doubt Biden will pursue a competitive agenda against companies trading with China.
Posted on Reply
#43
Sovsefanden
medi01Say exactly 0 reliable sources.
Pretty common knowledge, Apple had exclusity on all the new nodes for years at this point
Posted on Reply
#44
medi01
SovsefandenPretty common knowledge
Pretty common knowledge is that DLSS 2 upscaling "produces images indistinguishable from native" which, nevertheless, is an obvious BS.

Apple produces large number of much smaller chips, than AMD.
Bar facts, even on expectations level, AMD seems to be much bigger a customer of TSMC than Apple is.
Posted on Reply
#45
Sovsefanden
medi01Pretty common knowledge is that DLSS 2 upscaling "produces images indistinguishable from native" which, nevertheless, is an obvious BS.

Apple produces large number of much smaller chips, than AMD.
Bar facts, even on expectations level, AMD seems to be much bigger a customer of TSMC than Apple is.
DLSS 2.0 is magic, I know it's hard to accept as an AMD fanboy

And no, AMD is not TSMC's biggest customer, Apple is.

That's why Apple uses 5nm SoCs now, while AMDs Ryzen 5000 and Radeon 6000 products are still 7nm

Apple gets priority.
Posted on Reply
#46
Caring1
medi01Bar facts, even on expectations level, AMD seems to be much bigger a customer of TSMC than Apple is.
Are bar facts the ones you hear after a few beers?
Posted on Reply
#47
medi01
SovsefandenDLSS 2.0 is magic
How some brains work, is magic.
It is the better TAA, works lovely with lines (grass, hair, eyebrows), but wipes out fine detail, adds blur.

That is why the most common image shared when hyping this good, but nowhere as good as hyped tech, is that female face, on which there is barely any texture to spot the loss of details, but there are eyebrows/eyelashes for line improvement to kick in.

Yay, magic



Only RT makes it more magical (RT is on on the... left, cool, ain't it? That blured floor, absolutely lovely!):

Caring1Are bar facts the ones you hear after a few beers?
You sure sound like someone who can bring in numbers and beat the poor opponent to the punch.
I'll wait for them to popup.
Posted on Reply
#48
Sovsefanden
medi01How some brains work, is magic.
It is the better TAA, works lovely with lines (grass, hair, eyebrows), but wipes out fine detail, adds blur.

That is why the most common image shared when hyping this good, but nowhere as good as hyped tech, is that female face, on which there is barely any texture to spot the loss of details, but there are eyebrows/eyelashes for line improvement to kick in.

Yay, magic



Only RT makes it more magical (RT is on on the... left, cool, ain't it? That blured floor, absolutely lovely!):





You sure sound like someone who can bring in numbers and beat the poor opponent to the punch.
I'll wait for them to popup.
Yep magic, as long as it's v2.0 or higher - THATS WHY IT GETS PRAISED EVERYWHERE MAH DUDE.

www.nvidia.com/da-dk/geforce/news/death-stranding-nvidia-dlss-2-0/

Sliders for you

I have tried all DLSS 2.0 games on my 3080 and I know why AMD fanboys are in denial - they will have nothing like this anytime soon, sad bue true

DirectML will never bring what DLSS does, and Nvidia will support DirectML too

:laugh:

Nvidia is going to dominate so hard in Cyberpunk, you know, the biggest game release in years - Can't wait to max this game out on my 3080 at 1440p with Ray Tracing and DLSS 2.0 - AMD users can only dream
Posted on Reply
#49
medi01
SovsefandenYep magic, as long as it's v2.0 or higher -
It's 2.0 quality mode, my friend.
And you can see images are blurred even on those sites that are hyping it.
Sovsefandenon my 3080
My condolesces. Did you undervolt it yet?
SovsefandenSliders for you
Oh, so kind of Jensen Huang to hide the uncomfortable pics, ain't it?
But I'll go to, let me generous, overclock3d review, hyping the hell out of it, oh, look at this, from the page 2 of the review:


Look what happens to the bush



When magic was applied: :D



Now, to be clear here:

It is expected from temporal anti-aliasing.
It does improve the lines (again, grass, eyebrows, hair) you could see it on the right of the same picture.

But the point is: it is NOWHERE close to what it is hyped to be. Not even freaking remotely.
It is just the best TAA derivative we have, not more, not less.

www.overclock3d.net/reviews/software/dlss_2_0_in_death_stranding_-_nvidia_4k_performance_trump_card/2
Posted on Reply
#50
Sovsefanden
medi01It's 2.0 quality mode, my friend.
And you can see images are blurred even on those sites that are hyping it.


My condolesces. Did you undervolt it yet?


Oh, so kind of Jensen Huang to hide the uncomfortable pics, ain't it?
But I'll go to, let me generous, overclock3d review, hyping the hell out of it, oh, look at this, from the page 2 of the review:


Look what happens to the bush



When magic was applied: :D



Now, to be clear here:

It is expected from temporal anti-aliasing.
It does improve the lines (again, grass, eyebrows, hair) you could see it on the right of the same picture.

But the point is: it is NOWHERE close to what it is hyped to be. Not even freaking remotely.
It is just the best TAA derivative we have, not more, not less.

www.overclock3d.net/reviews/software/dlss_2_0_in_death_stranding_-_nvidia_4k_performance_trump_card/2
You are clueless, so funny when AMD fanboys are raging :D

I have tried DLSS 2.0 myself, because I can actually afford new and relevant hardware
Posted on Reply
Add your own comment
Apr 24th, 2024 16:33 EDT change timezone

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts