TSMC going strong on 7nm and 5nm
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has obtained a bunch of new orders, mainly advanced AI solutions, however requiring 7nm and 5nm process capacities in 2019, according to industry sources. Yes, there now already is talk of 5nm in 2019.
TSMC has started commercial production of 7nm chips for smartphone SoCs, and is gearing up for 5nm chip production next year. The foundry has secured new 7nm and 5nm chip orders for 2019 from mainly AI chip developers, the sources indicated.
TSMC is expected to see demand for 7nm and 5nm chips from AI chip companies stronger than that from other chip firms in 2019, given that AI solutions demand greater computing performance and lower power consumption, the sources said. AI chip developers' ability to attract additional capital is also encouraging the firms to pursue sub-10nm node technologies, the sources continued.
Instead of smartphone SoCs, orders for AI chips are set to be the key driver of demand for TSMC's 7nm and 5nm process technologies, the sources believe.
Qualcomm and MediaTek have introduced recently smartphone chips utilizing 12/14nm process indicating their efforts to enhance offerings for the mid-range and upper mid-range segments, the sources noted. Fabless chipmakers have increasingly put emphasis on the development of cost-efficient solutions, and put less focus on pursuing state-of-the-art semiconductor technology, the sources said.
As handset SoC suppliers have been encountering deceleration in the smartphone market and falling product ASPs, they have been cautious about advanced chip development and are taking a more rigorous R&D expense control prior to the arrival of 5G, the sources indicated.
On the other hand, demand for AI chip solutions is looking to boom for emerging applications such as data centers, smart cities and connected health, as well as niche-market applications including autonomous driving, big data analytics, robotics, and FinTech.
Senior Member
Posts: 1458
Joined: 2017-02-14
It's refreshing to see someone is actually making an effort to push technology forward.
Not like a certain company stuck at 14nm since 2014.
That was a low blow. I am happy TSMC is moving to 7nm on time.
Senior Member
Posts: 6553
Joined: 2012-11-10
It's refreshing to see someone is actually making an effort to push technology forward.
Not like a certain company stuck at 14nm since 2014.
Global Foundries and Samsung are also making great strides. It seems GloFo seems they may be skipping 5nm. So it's great to see so much competition.
Senior Member
Posts: 13752
Joined: 2004-05-16
It's refreshing to see someone is actually making an effort to push technology forward.
Not like a certain company stuck at 14nm since 2014.
I just want to point out that Intel is shipping processors on the 10nm process in low volume and their 10nm process is slightly better overall compared to TSMC's 7nm process. Like yeah, Intel is losing its lead but it's still ahead and they clearly spent a metric ton of money in the last 3 years trying to make 10nm work. So I wouldn't say Intel isn't pushing forward, they just ran into some unknown roadblocks that these other companies are avoiding - probably because they all have knowledge of where Intel got tripped up.
Senior Member
Posts: 11809
Joined: 2012-07-20
They cooperate to some degree because that's way forward. There's enough orders for everyone if technology does work.
Or there are orders for nobody if they try to gain advantage over everyone and fail.
Senior Member
Posts: 1775
Joined: 2013-06-04
It's refreshing to see someone is actually making an effort to push technology forward.
Not like a certain company stuck at 14nm since 2014.