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Su told the Nikkei at the weekend that AMD will “consider other manufacturing capabilities to ensure that we have the most resilient supply chain.” Su stressed that no such move was currently planned.
The only other foundries for leading edge fab are Samsung and IFS (Intel Foundry Services) and Intel has said that its process technology will overtake TSMC’s in 2024 when Intel’s 18A process is scheduled to move into volume manufacturing.
If that happens, then Su might find it necessary to use Intel’s processing capability to compete with Intel in the x86 market. At least AMD would know it would be getting an x86-optimised process!
A more likely move for AMD, if it moves away from TSMC, would be to Samsung. In May, Samsung said that the yields of its 3nm GAA process are between 60-70%, which may be more than TSMC’s yields on its 3nm finfet process which are said to be around 55%.
One of the reasons why Qualcomm is said to have left TSMC for Samsung for its Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips is said to be the improvement in Samsung’s 3nm yield.
Su says she is also open to using TSMC fabs outside Taiwan – as in Arizona – but first production at TSMC’s Arizona fab has been delayed until 2025 by when the fab’s 4nm process will probably be two generations behind the leading edge.
If the cell phone market dwindles then TSMC will have plenty of surplus manufacturing capacity.
> One of the reasons why Qualcomm is said to have left TSMC for Samsung for its Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips is said to be the improvement in Samsung’s 3nm yield.
A far bigger reason may be that all the high end Samsung phones are using this processor, with Exynos relegated to the mid-range.