news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

on october 5, according to multiple media reports, tsmc made a major breakthrough in the 2nm process node. however, the 2nm process will continue to increase in price.

according to media reports, tsmc’s price for each 300mm 2nm wafer may exceed us$30,000, which is higher than the previously expected us$25,000 and twice the price of 4/5nm wafers.

according to other reports, the first customer to try out n2’s advanced technology is likely to be the technology giant apple. in addition, tsmc and chip packaging company amkor recently announced that the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in chip production, packaging and testing in arizona, usa. however, the above news has not been confirmed by tsmc.

check out the detailed report.

tsmc’s major breakthrough in burst transmission

according to multiple media reports, tsmc has made a major breakthrough at the 2nm process node and will introduce gate-all-aroundfets (gaafet) transistor technology for the first time. in addition, the n2 process is combined with nanoflex technology to provide chip designers with unprecedented flexibility in standard components.

however, the above news has not been confirmed by tsmc.

according to reports, compared to the current n3e process, the n2 process is expected to achieve a 10% to 15% performance improvement at the same power, or reduce power consumption by 25% to 30% at the same frequency. even more impressive is that the transistor density will increase by 15%, which marks another leap for tsmc in the field of semiconductor technology.

however, as technology upgrades, costs also rise accordingly. it is predicted that the price of each 300mm 2nm wafer of tsmc may exceed the us$30,000 mark, higher than the earlier estimate of us$25,000. in comparison, the current price range for 3nm wafers is approximately us$18,500 to us$20,000, while 4/5nm wafers hover between us$15,000 and us$16,000. obviously, the price of 2nm wafers will increase significantly.

tsmc is building two fabs, using its 2nm process technology to manufacture chips, and spending tens of billions of dollars to purchase ultra-expensive euv lithography equipment (about $200 million per equipment). in addition, the n2 process will use a variety of innovative production technologies, which will make tsmc's cost higher than n3e. in general, n2 may add more euv lithography steps, which will increase its cost. for example, tsmc may need to return euv dual patterning with n2, which will increase its costs, so it would make sense for the foundry to pass these additional costs on to customers.

analysts in the semiconductor industry pointed out that wafer factories have invested huge amounts in advanced manufacturing processes. for example, the r&d investment in the 3-nanometer process exceeded us$4 billion, and the support of key supply chains was indispensable. these investments have brought significant revenue growth to tsmc and its supply chain partners, such as ip providers and related process consumables factories.

with the exponential growth of advanced process development costs, ic design executives revealed changes in development costs from 28nm to 5nm processes. the development cost of 28 nanometers is approximately us$50 million, while 16 nanometers requires an investment of us$100 million. when advancing to 5 nanometers, the cost has reached us$550 million, which includes ip licensing, software verification, design architecture and other aspects. for foundries, the investment is even greater. taking the 3-nanometer process as an example, research institutions believe that it requires an investment of 4 billion to 5 billion u.s. dollars, and the cost of building a 3-nanometer factory is at least about 15 billion to 20 billion u.s. dollars.

supply chain industry players say that investment in advanced processes is a long and resource-intensive process, involving multiple links such as r&d manpower, equipment, software, and materials, and often takes 7 to 10 years. taking the 2-nanometer process as an example, its path was already quite clear in 2016, but it was not until recently that the details of the trial production schedule gradually became clear.

with the 2nm process expected to come out in 2025, supply chain companies are expected to usher in an explosive period of profit growth. in addition, since the 2-nanometer process requires grinding wafers to be thinner, in terms of materials, china sand and sun semiconductor are also cutting into diamond discs, recycled wafers and other fields. in terms of recycled wafers, the output value of 2nm is about 4.6 times that of 28nm. as the barrier control films enter advanced manufacturing processes, the number of films used will also increase accordingly. for industry players, this will be a business opportunity with both volume and price.

tsmc is the world's largest foundry manufacturer, providing chip manufacturing, advanced packaging technology and other services to customers such as apple and nvidia. in terms of performance, tsmc’s second-quarter consolidated revenue was nt$673.51 billion, a year-on-year increase of 40.1%, higher than analysts’ expectations. net profit was recorded at nt$247.85 billion, a year-on-year increase of 36.3%, which also exceeded expectations.

tsmc’s sales in august increased by approximately 33% year-on-year to nt$250.87 billion. jpmorgan chase said that tsmc’s revenue so far in the third quarter has reached 68% of jpmorgan chase’s expectations. the company's strong sales in august suggest third-quarter results could beat its guidance. the bank maintained its "overweight" rating on the stock with a target of nt$1,200.

in the secondary market, tsmc’s stock price has risen by nearly 65% ​​this year, with the latest market value being nt$25.34 trillion, equivalent to approximately 5.5 trillion yuan.

is apple the first to try something new?

according to reports, tsmc has planned for the n2 process to officially enter the mass production stage in the second half of 2025. it is expected that customers will receive the first batch of chips manufactured using the n2 process as soon as 2026. the first customer to try this advanced technology is likely to be the technology giant apple.

some analysts also believe that if the quotation of us$30,000 per wafer is accurate, then whether using n2 instead of n3 (improving performance and reducing power consumption while obtaining 15% of the transistor density) is of great benefit to all tsmc's customers. the big economic implications remain to be seen. apple is gearing up for n2 in the second half of 2025, as it needs to improve the processors for its iphones, ipads, and macs every year (although those products are only expected to get n2 chips in 2026). other large customers usually catch up with apple within 1.5-2 years, so the quotes may be lower by then.

on thursday, tsmc and chip packaging company amkor announced that the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in chip production, packaging and testing in arizona, usa.

the companies said in a press release that the close proximity of their arizona factories will speed up the entire chip manufacturing process. under the agreement, tsmc will use amkor's turnkey advanced packaging and testing services provided by the new plant it plans to build in peoria, arizona. tsmc will use these services to support its customers, particularly those using tsmc's advanced wafer fabrication facilities in phoenix. the close cooperation between tsmc's front-end wafer manufacturing plant in arizona and amkor's nearby back-end packaging and testing plant will shorten the overall product production cycle.

tsmc's earlier commitment to build a $40 billion chip manufacturing plant in phoenix, arizona, laid the groundwork for the deal with amkor.

apple confirmed last year that amkor would package apple silicon chips produced at a nearby tsmc factory. technology reporter tim culpan recently reported that tsmc’s u.s. factories have begun small-scale production of the a16 chip, which debuted in the iphone 14 pro model two years ago and is also used in the iphone 15 and iphone 15 plus models.