On May 9, the latest news said that the world's largest semiconductor foundry TSMC has decided to launch the 1.4nm process, the team is mainly composed of the previous research and development of the 3nm process, next month will confirm, into the first phase of TV0 development, mainly to develop 1.4nm technical specifications.
In terms of high-tech chip process, TSMC has many hands to prepare, the current 3nm plans to start small-scale mass production in the second half of this year, the 2nm process is still in the construction process, technology research and development is almost the same, it is expected to start trial production in 2024, and large-scale mass production is estimated to wait until 2026.
It is understood that the process node of 1nm is considered to be the physical limit of Moore's Law, which is quite difficult to manufacture, and 1.4nm has entered the process category of 1nm, whether it is manufacturing equipment, materials, or process routes need to be fully upgraded, even if 2nm has achieved large-scale mass production, I am afraid that 1.4nm also needs to wait for a few more years.
Xiao Lei previously reported that Samsung will use a new GAA FET process in the 3nm node to improve its technological leadership and achieve "corner overtaking", and has now successfully tapeted, while TSMC still uses FinFET, and may not use the GAA architecture until the 2nm node. What is currently certain is that the GAA architecture has better electrostatic characteristics than FinFET, and the size can be further reduced, suitable for the development of higher density transistors.
After semiconductors enter the 10nm node process, the companies that can afford to play are mainly TSMC, Samsung and Intel, and now in the semiconductor foundry industry, it occupies the highest share and the most advanced process is TSMC. Some analysts said that Intel will surpass in 2025 with the 18A process. Although TSMC is still in a leading position, Samsung and Intel are catching up quickly, and to maintain the advantages of the industry, they may only be able to move towards more advanced processes.
Not surprisingly, Apple and Intel are still the first large customers to eat the most advanced process of TSMC, and the Android camp may need to wait for Samsung's 3nm GAA process to land. In any case, the process is still obvious in terms of performance and energy efficiency.
Of course, it is too early to talk about 1.4nm, the yield of 3nm, the scale of production is not yet mature, let alone 2nm. Even if the research and development of 1.4nm is very smooth, it may have to wait until 2028, and Xiaolei expects that the chips of 2nm and 1.4nm will increase in foundry costs.