TSMC, Apple’s main chip supplier, is on track to begin risk production of a 3-nanometer fabrication process in the second half of this year, when the foundry will be capable of processing 30,000 wafers built using the more advanced technology, according to a new report today (via DigiTimes).
TSMC reportedly plans to expand its 3nm process capacity to 55,000 units monthly in 2022, thanks to Apple’s order commitment, and will further scale up the output to 105,000 units in 2023. The 3nm process yields 30 percent and 15 percent power consumption and performance improvements over the 5nm process.
A previous report suggested TSMC will be ready to move into volume production in the second half of next year, suggesting the 3nm production roadmap is unchanged.
Meanwhile, TSMC plans to scale up its 5nm process manufacturing capacity throughout the year to meet increasing demands from its major customers. According to today’s report, TSMC will upscale to 105,000 wafers monthly in the first half of 2021, up from 90,000 units in fourth-quarter 2020, with plans to further expand the process capacity to 120,000 units in the second half of this year.
Read more at MacRumors.com