TSMC To Begin 3nm Chip Production Next Month

TSMC will begin mass producing chips using its leading-edge N3 (3nm-class) manufacturing process this September, according to a Commercial Times report that cites equipment manufacturers. From a report: The contract chipmaker will deliver the first products made using its N3 node to its customers early next year. Traditionally, TSMC begins its high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of a new node sometime in the March to May timeframe to produce enough chips for Apple's latest iPhones, which typically launch in September. But the development of TSMC's N3 node took longer than usual, which is why Apple's upcoming smartphone chips will use a different node. In contrast, the first 3nm chips from TSMC will reach the HVM milestone only in September, which is a bit later than what TSMC originally promised (a couple of months delay versus typical schedules). Still, the company will meet its goal of starting N3 production in the second half of the year. When compared to the original N5 manufacturing technology, the initial N3 fabrication process is projected to offer a 10% to 15% performance improvement (at the same power and complexity), reduce power consumption by 25%-30% (at the same speed and transistor count), and increase logic density by around 1.6 times.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.