Samsung Unveils Latest 3nm and 4nm Chip Processes at VLSI Symposium 2023

According to foreign media Sammobile, Samsung is set to unveil its latest 3nm and 4nm chip manufacturing processes at the VLSI Symposium 2023 event, taking place from June 11 to 16. This chip event will be held in Kyoto, Japan. Specifically, Samsung will announce the second-generation 3nm SF3 process and the fourth-generation 4nm SF4X process, both of which are crucial for the company to attract more customers and compete with TSMC. Previously, Samsung's 4nm process performed poorly compared to TSMC's equivalent technology, with its Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chips generating significant heat and receiving market criticism.

According to official statements, Samsung's latest SF3 process is an improved version of the SF3E process and will utilize 3nm GAP technology. This process employs GAA (Gate-All-Around) transistors (similar to Intel's technology), which Samsung refers to as MBCFTE field-effect transistors.

Compared to the SF4 (4nm EUV LPP) process, it is reported that the SF3 process chips offer a 22% improvement in operating speed at the same power, or a 34% efficiency boost under the same frequency and transistor count conditions. Additionally, the chip size is reduced by 21%. The advantage of the GAA process lies in its ability to modify the channel width of nanosheets, significantly enhancing transistor density.

Earlier leaks suggested that Samsung's future 3nm SF3 process will be used to manufacture the Exynos 2500 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 for Galaxy chips.

As for Samsung's fourth-generation 4nm SF4X process, it is expected to be used for manufacturing server CPUs, GPUs, and more. Compared to the second-generation 4nm SF4 process, performance is projected to improve by 10%, and energy efficiency is anticipated to increase by 23%. This process will compete with TSMC's N4P (second-generation 4nm) and N4X (third-generation 4nm) process nodes.

According to foreign media AnandTech, Samsung's SF4X process will be the company's first process node targeting high-performance server HPC chips in recent years, signifying its importance and indicating that Samsung may have some potential customers in mind.