How is the 3nm process of the world's major fabs progressing?
Samsung's 3nm GAA process yield is still well below target
According to relevant news reports, Samsung is working to improve its 3nm GAA process yield, which has just reached between 10% and 20%. The yield rate of Samsung's 4nm process manufacturing is also unsatisfactory, only 30-35%.
Market participants believe that Samsung's first-generation 3nm GAA process will first be used in the manufacture of Samsung's self-developed chips, and this process is unlikely to be adopted by external customers. Samsung's second-generation 3nm process will be ready for chip designs by external customers, with mass production expected to begin next year, the sources said.
It remains to be seen whether TSMC will face yield issues as it moves to GAA transistor technology, the sources said. TSMC is most likely to have GAA-based 2nm, targeting production in 2025.
Samsung previously revealed that it plans to start production of its customers' first 3nm (3GAE)-based chip designs in the first half of 2022, and has its second-generation 3nm process (3GAP) ready for production in 2023.
It is said that Samsung Electronics plans to achieve mass production of 3nm process chips this year, but it is rumored in the industry that the trial production yield of the current process (3GAE) is not ideal, only reaching about 20%. The high cost brought by the low yield makes Samsung may only be able to use its own product production in the early stage of mass production of the 3nm process.
TSMC is expected to mass-produce 3nm in August this year
TSMC reiterated that it expects to put its 3nm process technology into mass production in the second half of 2022. The foundry also plans to put an enhanced version of the N3, the N3E, into mass production in the second half of 2023. TSMC's 3nm process utilizes the structure of FinFET transistors.
"United Daily News" reported that TSMC decided to promote the mass production of 3nm chips in 2022 as scheduled. At present, TSMC initially plans to have a monthly production capacity of about 10,000 to 20,000 chips at the Hsinchu factory and 15,000 chips at the Tainan factory.
TSMC decided to take the lead in mass production of the second version of the 3nm process N3B this year, and it will be filmed simultaneously in the eighth phase of the R&D center of the Hsinchu 12 factory and the P5 factory of the Nanke 18 factory in August this year. Analysts said the first customers included Apple and Intel Corp.
TSMC's 3nm technology (N3) will be another full-node technology after 5nm technology (N5) and will provide the most advanced foundry technology in PPA and transistor technology at launch. Compared with N5 technology, N3 technology will provide up to 70% logic density gain, up to 15% speed increase and the same speed and up to 30% lower power consumption. N3 technology development is progressing smoothly. N3 technology will provide complete platform support for mobile and HPC applications.
Intel 3nm Announcement
By the end of 2022, Intel should increase their 4nm node, then in 2023 their 3nm node should increase, and by 2024 their 20A (2nm) and 18A (1.8nm) nodes should increase. All of these are EUV-based nodes, and by the end of 2024 Intel will rarely use non-EUV-based microprocessor production processes. Intel is also building an EUV-based production facility.
By 2024, Intel's 20A2nm chip is expected to be released, which will feature the company's proprietary HNS called RibbonFET. It will also have a form of backplane power called PowerVia to help power the chip more easily. Next up is the release of the 18A, after which we'll see further improvements in EUV technology for making smaller prints. All of this should help deliver better performance per watt, which is one of Intel's main goals with these new chips.
