TSMC founder Chang Chung-Mou said today that the semiconductor giant and Apple supplier will build 3-nanometer chips at its plant in Arizona, although final plans are not yet ready. The plant is currently under construction, with production scheduled to begin in 2024.
Regarding 3 nanometers, TSMC has a plan now, but it’s not fully finalized,” Chang said at a news conference in Taipei, Reuters reported.” At the same location in Arizona, it has almost been finalized in two phases. 5nm is the first phase and 3nm is the second phase.”
On its website, TSMC says its 3nm technology, or N3, will be a full node improvement over its 5nm technology, with 70 percent higher logic density, 15 percent higher speed at the same power and 30 percent lower power at the same speed compared to its predecessor, with the goal of achieving technology readiness for volume production in the second half of this year.
As the world’s largest chip foundry, TSMC makes almost half of the world’s most advanced chips, but with a worldwide chip shortage hindering the production of electronics, it calls into question supply chain dependencies.
TSMC’s plant in Arizona, and a second reportedly in the planning stages, are part of the Biden administration’s strategy to support U.S. chip manufacturing. TSMC is also building a plant in Japan and is in talks with the German government to build another plant in that country.
Other foundries working on 3-nanometer chips include Samsung Electronics, which began production of 3-nanometer chips in June, ahead of TSMC. The South Korean technology giant is producing 3-nanometer chips at its semiconductor plants. Samsung said last year it would invest 171 trillion won ($132 billion) in its logic chip and foundry business by 2030, and it is also building a semiconductor plant in Texas.
