According to TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou, TSMC is preparing to set up a 3nm advanced process fab in Arizona, USA. At present, the 5nm process plant has been started in the United States, and TSMC is also moving talents and factory equipment to the United States through charter flights, and the plant is expected to achieve mass production in 2024. After the 5nm factory is stabilized, the layout of the 3nm factory will begin.
Zhang Zhongmou was once known as the hegemon of China's semiconductor manufacturing industry, and the other hegemon was SMIC founder Zhang Rujing, and the two were known as "wafer twins".
The former Zhang Zhongmou led TSMC to dominate the side, and with the help of Hu Zhengming and Liang Mengsong's apprentices, TSMC defeated IBM and directly stood in the position of the leader of the international semiconductor manufacturing industry. Later, TSMC relied on Liang Mengsong, set many technical barriers, threw off all competitors in the same period at the technical level, and once led the technological development of the world's semiconductor manufacturing industry.
TSMC's sole dominance has not only brought great profit growth to Taiwan Province of China, but also brought economic growth to American technology companies.
At present, TSMC alone has captured more than half of the global wafer processing market share. Coupled with UMC and other enterprises, the entire Taiwan Province of China occupies three-quarters of the global wafer processing market, which is a near-monopoly situation. For the whole year of 2018, TSMC's total revenue reached $34.2 billion, and its profit reached 12 billion yuan, with a profit margin of 35%.
Among the global top 500, no manufacturing company has reached TSMC's terrifying profit margin.
The founder of TSMC, Zhang Zhongmou, although he built a factory in Taiwan, he worked in the United States for a long time after graduating from college and has long been a US citizen. Most of TSMC's big customers are also American companies.
In 2020, TSMC announced the construction of a 5nm fab in the United States, and began to gradually ship the talents and technical equipment required for advanced processes to the United States. A few days ago, a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was held in Thailand, where Zhang Zhongmou and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat next to each other and talked to each other.
Zhang Zhongmou's close contact with high-level US officials has attracted great attention. In the current US sanctions against domestic semiconductors, it only restricts Chinese mainland purchase of advanced computer chips and semiconductor production equipment, and its attitude towards TSMC is still very open.
If the background accumulation of 3nm and more advanced technology is developed in the United States, then this will greatly affect the development of advanced semiconductor technology for other countries other than the United States. The US "CHIP Act" has explained this situation before, the United States can give you technology, funds and equipment and materials support, but you must develop technology in the territory of the United States.
The factor of US strength is inseparable from its hegemonism. Due to the early development of the semiconductor industry in the United States and the high degree of technological maturity, there are many experts in the chip industry who hope to go to the United States to develop. On the one hand, it is difficult to rely on the technology of the United States, and on the other hand, it is highly paid. This is also the main reason why the mainland semiconductor industry has been gradually encroached upon by the United States.
To say that in terms of grabbing people, the semiconductor companies of the United States and South Korea's Samsung can be regarded as evenly matched. Especially when Lee Kun-hee led Samsung Electronics, as long as Samsung fancy talents, no amount of money is ambiguous.
At that time, Liang Mengsong resigned from TSMC because of a grudge with TSMC executives. For Liang Mengsong, a technology pioneer in the wafer foundry industry, it is a sought-after product everywhere. After Samsung learned that he left TSMC, it immediately sent someone to find him and ask him to join Samsung.
Samsung's conditions are also very generous, not only the salary is 3 times that of TSMC, but also quickly promote him to management. The reason why Liang Mengsong left TSMC was because the internal board did not promote him, and he felt that his efforts and rewards were not proportional, and finally chose to leave.
After joining Samsung, Liang Mengsong led Samsung to directly develop the 14nm process from 28nm and successfully tape-out. At that time, TSMC only developed the 16nm process half a year later. Too advanced technology development, so that Samsung in the field of wafer foundry to surpass TSMC, won a large number of chip orders, and made a lot of profits.
Subsequently, TSMC took Liang Mengsong and Samsung to international court on the grounds of technology patents. In the end, TSMC won the case, and the court rejected Liang Mengsong's request to work at Samsung, and Liang Mengsong left Samsung.
Since then, TSMC has returned to the position of the leader of the wafer foundry industry. Although Samsung said that it surpassed TSMC for a period of time with the help of Liang Mengsong, after all, TSMC's technical heritage is deep and its development technology is steady and steady. Over time, TSMC's advantages will become more and more important.
Now although Samsung and TSMC are competitors, the two also belong to cooperative relations, and many of Samsung Electronics' manufacturing equipment needs to be supplied by American companies.
After leaving Samsung, Liang joined SMIC. In just 298 days, SMIC successfully crossed from 28nm to 14nm process tapeout, and quickly began the development of 7nm and N+1 technology. Later, SMIC was sanctioned by the United States, blocking the supply of technology and equipment materials for processes of 10nm and below, and SMIC temporarily fell into a downward development stalemate.
Compared with Zhang Zhongmou, SMIC's Zhang Rujing is much larger in terms of home and country feelings. With the help of Jiang Shangzhou, Zhang Rujing founded SMIC in Shanghai. Previously, Zhang Rujing worked at Shida Semiconductor in Taiwan, and he planned to build Shida's factory in the mainland. But then Shida was acquired by TSMC, and the plan to build a factory in the mainland was canceled.
Zhang Rujing gave up his shares held at TSMC and led all his family members and hundreds of engineers to go north to Shanghai for development. When SMIC was first founded, the Taiwan authorities issued a NT$5 million fine for Zhang Rujing's investment in the mainland as a warning and asked him to divest within six months, on the grounds that his investment in the mainland had not been reviewed by the Taiwan authorities.
Zhang Rujing broke the cauldron and sank the boat, directly and publicly announced that he would give up his Taiwan household registration and was determined to go to the mainland to develop semiconductors.
Zhang Rujing has invested all his contacts and resources in the semiconductor industry for more than ten years in SMIC, building dormitories, children's schools and other supporting facilities for employees around the factory. Take new employees hand-in-hand, mingle with employees, and listen to employees' opinions; Help the supply chain test the problem of products, drive the domestic supply chain to develop together...
Although Zhang Rujing later left SMIC because of the patent issue between TSMC and SMIC, he left a strong mark on the development of mainland semiconductors.
One of the "wafer duos" who were famous in the world is now ready to go to the United States to develop technology, and the other has already resigned to join other companies. For China's semiconductor development, it is not good news. The reason why the United States can unscrupulously encroach on China's chip market is that one reason is peer infighting, and the other reason is that there are too few bloody corporate leaders to drive the wave of domestic semiconductor development. #科技之巅寻找先行者 #