TSMC held a conference in Japan to introduce the progress of the N3E process node and the performance improvements it brings. In addition, the company also provided a roadmap for the next-generation N2 process.
Kevin Zhang, TSMC’s senior vice president, said the company’s growth has accelerated, with investments reaching $5.4 billion in 2022 (currently about RMB 39.204 billion). The company also has 8,558 employees on staff, showing that it is rapidly expanding its facilities and investing time and money in developing next-generation processes.
TSMC reviewed the evolution of previous process nodes while showing the performance improvements for each derivative of the 5nm process. In addition to the N5P, N4 and N4P processes, the company unveiled data on the new N4X node, which it says offers a 17% performance improvement and a 6% increase in chip density over the N5 process released three years ago.
TSMC reiterated that the 3nm process has been in volume production since early 2022. However, the newer N3E process has already passed technology qualification and will be commercialized in the second half of 2023. In addition, one of the advanced versions of the 3nm family, the N3P process, will be in production in 2024 with 5% higher performance, 5-10% lower power and 1.04x higher chip density than the N3E process. Due to rapid demand from the automotive industry, TSMC also plans to launch N3AE nodes based on the N3 process but targeting applications such as autonomous driving, which will initially be available as PDK kits for companies to test and support the new process.
Finally, the company mentioned its highly anticipated 2nm process, which is under development and scheduled to go into production in 2025. TSMC will use nanowafer technology and abandon FinFET transistors, mainly due to the difference in performance efficiency. Previous reports that 2nm technology will be offered to Apple at a reduced price suggest that Apple is still interested in the process.
Finally TSMC Japan President Makoto Onodera took the stage to highlight the company’s efforts to promote the local semiconductor industry. He said that the state-of-the-art Kumamoto plant is scheduled and on track to start up by the end of 2024, and that the purpose of the event was to generate interest in TSMC’s current and next-generation processes among the Japanese business community.
