Home Report: TSMC CEO says 7-nm production is ramping up
News

Report: TSMC CEO says 7-nm production is ramping up

Wayne Manion
Disclosure
Disclosure
In our content, we occasionally include affiliate links. Should you click on these links, we may earn a commission, though this incurs no additional cost to you. Your use of this website signifies your acceptance of our terms and conditions as well as our privacy policy.

Digitimes reports that TSMC CEO CC Wei told onlookers that commercial production of chips built using the company's 7-nm fabrication process has begun at a recent technology symposium. The leader of the Taiwanese foundry says an improved 7-nm node with EUV will come before the end of 2018, and it anticipates a move to a 5-nm fabrication node at the end of 2019 or in early 2020. The CEO said TSMC's newest plant, Fab 18 in Taiwan Science Park, will also be the tip of the spear for 3-nm production at some undetermined point in the future, according to Digitimes.

The outlet says that Wei's comments were likely an attempt to counter rumors that the company was experiencing teething trouble with its 7-nm process tech. The leader said the beginning of 7-nm production would increase the company's total output of 12″ silicon wafers by 9% to 12 million units in 2018. Digitimes quotes Wei as stating that TSMC would tape out at least 50 7-nm designs before the end of the year, highlighted by chips for AI, graphics, and cryptocurrency applications. Some of the 7-nm silicon is also intended for 5G wireless services and ASICs.

Digitimes believes Apple orders of A12 SoCs for its iOS-powered devices will be a “major driver” of 7-nm production, according to its sources. The outlet says TSMC also has orders from graphics outfits AMD and Nvidia, plus smartphone SoC designer Qualcomm and crypto player Bitmain.

Wei reportedly said the company could spend as much as NT$700 billion (about $24 billion USD) in the future transition from 7-nm to 5-nm technology, with 5-nm risk production scheduled to start in early 2020. Morris Chang, the retired chairman of TSMC, said the lion's share of that cash—NT$500 billion, or about $16.5 billion USD—would be spent at Fab 18, the manufacturer's newest facility for 12″ silicon wafer production.

TSMC's aggressive schedule for node shrinks comes as Intel's seemingly-insurmountable lead in silicon production technology appears to be eroding. The blue team has famously stumbled with its 10-nm node, a problem that could potentially affect its timeline for subsequent introductions in process tech. GlobalFoundries hasn't given a date for the start of volume 7-nm manufacturing, but the company was confident enough in its progress to give our own Jeff Kampman a tour of its Fab 8 facility and its extensive EUV investment earlier this year.

Latest News

Apple Might Join Hands with Google or OpenAI for Their AI Tech
News

Apple Is Reportedly Planning to Join Hands with Google or OpenAI to License Their AI Tools

YouTube Launches New Tool To Help Label AI-generated Content
News

YouTube Launches a New Tool to Help Creators Label AI-Generated Content

YouTube released a tool that will make creators clearly label the parts of their content that are generated by AI. The initiative was first launched in November in an attempt...

Ripple Dumps 240 Million XRP Tokens Amid 17% Price Decline
Crypto News

Ripple Dumps 240 Million XRP Tokens Amid 17% Price Decline

Popular crypto payment platform Ripple has released 240 million XRP tokens in its latest escrow unlock for March. This comes at a time when XRP’s price has declined significantly. Data from...

Crypto Expert Draws A Links Between Shiba Inu And Ethereum
Crypto News

Crypto Expert Draws Link Between Shiba Inu And Ethereum

The Lucrative FTX Bankruptcy Trade and Ongoing Legal Battle
Crypto News

The Lucrative FTX Bankruptcy Trade and Ongoing Legal Battle

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Set to Enter “Danger Zone” – Time to Back-Off or Bag More Coins?
Crypto News

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Set to Enter “Danger Zone” – Time to Back-Off or Bag More Coins?

SNB to Kick Off Rate Cut Cycle Sooner Than Expected
News

SNB to Kick-Start Rate Cut Cycle Sooner Than Expected