TSMC to Boost Specialty Capacity by 50% by 2027

TSMC has announced plans to expand its specialty process capacity by 50% by 2027, revealed during a European technology seminar in mid-May. This ambitious expansion will be achieved through the construction of new fabs in Germany and Japan, alongside capacity enhancements at its existing facilities in Taiwan. TSMC will not only upgrade its current capabilities but also build new fabs specifically designed for future specialty processes.

Kevin Zhang, TSMC's Vice President of Business Development and Overseas Operations, stated, "Historically, TSMC has evaluated and decided on fab construction as projects developed. However, for the first time in a long period, TSMC has committed from the outset to constructing fabs dedicated to future specialty processes to meet upcoming demand. Over the next 4-5 years, we aim to increase our specialty process capacity by 1.5 times and broaden our manufacturing network to enhance the flexibility of our entire fab supply chain."

TSMC's specialty process nodes include solutions for power semiconductors, mixed-signal I/O chips, and ultra-low-power applications such as IoT devices. These processes typically utilize more mature technologies. The company also manufactures logic chips at various advanced nodes like N5 and N3E.

One of TSMC's strategic goals in recent years has been to establish new fabs outside Taiwan and significantly expand capacity to meet future demand for various process technologies. Currently, TSMC's most advanced specialty node is N6e, a variant of N7/N6, supporting operating voltages of 0.4V and 0.9V. With the introduction of the new N4e node, TSMC is exploring even lower operating voltages below 0.4V. Further details about the new node are expected to be released next year.