Today, if you use a smartphone, there is a good chance that, without knowing it, you are using a processor manufactured by the Taiwanese company TSMC. Indeed, it is this one that manufactures the iPhone (and Mac) chips. And it is also TSMC that manufactures some of the Qualcomm Snapdragon or Mediatek chips for Android devices. Currently, the most advanced smartphone processors are chips engraved in 5 nm or 4 nm. However, from next year manufacturers will also be able to use even more advanced 3nm chips.
TSMC launches its new generation of chips
Indeed, in Taiwan, TSMC has just launched the mass production of chips engraved in 3 nm. Switching processors from 4 nm or 5 nm engraving to 3 nm engraving will allow electronic device manufacturers to offer more efficient and energy-efficient products, which will boost battery life on smartphones and laptop PCs. The Taiwanese company estimates that compared to 5nm chips, its 3nm chips can reduce processor power consumption by 30-35% at the same speed. The technology will also make it possible to obtain processors with a logic density multiplied by 1.6.
The production of this new generation of chips has a huge cost. But these chips should also bring the company a lot of money. It estimates that products using its 3nm-engraved processors over the next 5 years should have a total value of $1.5 trillion. Note also that in addition to the Fab 18 facility in Taiwan, where production began this week, TSMC plans to build another facility capable of producing 3nm chips in Arizona, USA. But it will take time.
Samsung is also in the game
Otherwise, it is important to note that TSMC today faces increasingly tough competition. And among its main rivals there is Samsung, which produces processors for its smartphones, but also for the company Qualcomm. Moreover, with regard to 3 nm engraving technology, the Taiwanese company has been beaten. Indeed, Samsung has announced the start of its production in June 2022.
