EUV readied for 7, 5nm--but gains decline
Rick Merritt, EETimes
5/2/2018 00:01 AM EDT
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Continuing to move fast in multiple directions at once, TSMC announced it is in volume production with a 7nm process and will have a version using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography ramping early next year. In addition, it gave its first timeline for a 5nm node and announced a half dozen new packaging options.
Meanwhile, the foundry is pushing power consumption and leakage down on more mainstream 22/12nm nodes, advancing a laundry list of specialty processes and rolling out an alphabet soup of embedded memories. At the same time, it is exploring future transistor structures and materials.
Overall, the Taiwanese giant expects to make 12 million wafers this year with R&D and capex spending both on the rise. It has even started production of 16nm FinFET chips in Nanjing, a big first for China.