Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturer Company (TSMC) is definitely a pioneer in ARM based chipset manufacturing. The company’s modern 4 nm process is now used by MediaTek and Qualcomm. The company is also a major partner for Apple with the A-series chip, although Apple continues to invest in the 5 nm process. Interestingly, Qualcomm started the year using Samsung’s manufacturing process, however, it did not satisfy the company due to heating and lack of performance. Qualcomm decided to move to TSMC and the partnership gave birth to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. TSMC is likely to be a leader next year and the company already in detail its plans for the 3 nm and 2 nm production processes.
TSMC 3 nm chips are coming in 2023, 2 nm chips will only come by 2025
The manufacturer provided details on chip development at the 2022 TSMC Technology Symposium. Taiwan-based chip maker imports 3 nm chips in the second half of this year. It will bring 2 nm technology to the world stage in 2025. The 3 nm node will reach five levels. These will vary in power, quantity of transistors and efficiency. They will be: N3, N3E (Enhanced), N3P (Enhanced Performance), N3S (Enhanced Density) and N3X (Ultra High Performance).
The company also revealed some details about the 2 nm node. According to them, the upcoming node will boost efficiency by 10 percent to 15 percent with the same power takeover. They will have 25% to 30% lower consumption at the same frequency and number of transistors, compared to the N3E node. N2 will increase the chip density by 1.1 times compared to N3E. TSMC alto seized the opportunity to introduce GAAFETs (specifically gate-all-around field effect transistors). The new nanofoil transistors will increase the efficiency per watt by reducing the resistance.
We are used to seeing new production processes being introduced every year. However, it seems that there will be a gap in 2024, where companies will insist on more efficient versions of the 3 nm process.
For a quick comparison, Samsung Foundy will mass-produce 3 nm chips in 2022. Similarly, 2 nm chips will go into production in 2025.