1.4 nm Node, 3x More Capacity

Samsung outlined its foundry business roadmap for the next five years at last week’s Foundry Forum event. The company plans to introduce next-generation manufacturing technology in a timely manner, and by 2027 he plans to manufacture chips on a 1.4 nm (14 angstrom) manufacturing process. Position in the foundry market.

Incoming new nodes

Samsung has been introducing new production nodes and/or production node variants every 12-18 months for the last few years and plans to maintain a fairly aggressive pace going forward. Fanfare aside, the company’s roadmap shows that it’s currently taking time to develop new manufacturing processes: the company’s second generation of his 3 nm-class gate-all-around (3GAP) technology It is scheduled to appear in 2024. Samsung Foundry, on the other hand, plans to be ready with his 2 nm (20 Angstroms) node in 2025. 1.4 nm brand manufacturing process in 2027.

“The company’s success in bringing the latest products to [3 nm-class] To transition process technology to mass production, Samsung will further strengthen its gate-all-around (GAA)-based technology, introducing a 2 nm process in 2025 and a 1.4 nm process in 2027.

Compared to Intel and TSMC, TSMC seems a bit more conservative (which is to be expected when they are the world’s largest contrast maker in microelectronics). Intel, on the other hand, is more aggressive (again to be expected given its position in the semiconductor market). On the other hand, the nomenclature of modern manufacturing processes is inherently capricious and has little to do with actual physical measures. This is why comparing the roadmaps of various semiconductor companies is an inaccurate metric at best.

In addition to the new “common” node, Samsung will expand its process technology optimization program for specific applications to provide customized services for customers, the company said.

On the other hand, one thing Samsung specifically did No The company’s 1.4 nm node mention in the press release is the use of High-NA equipment. Intel plans to use High-NA at the start of the Intel 18A node (2024), eventually replacing his EUV multi-patterning used in his first 18A production increase.

Adoption of new process technologies and demand for new manufacturing processes will be driven by known megatrends such as AI, self-driving cars, general automotive applications, HPC, 5G and eventually 6G connectivity, according to Samsung. … apparently … Bearing in mind that Samsung is a large industrial conglomerate with many divisions, many of the applications that future process nodes will address are unique.

Company disclosed The company’s LSI business (chip development division) currently offers approximately 900 products, including SoCs, image sensors, modems, display driver ICs (DDIs), power management ICs (PMICs), and security solutions. Going forward, the company plans to focus more on developing performance-demanding IP such as CPUs and GPUs by working closely with industry partners (possibly including Arm and AMD).

Expansion of production capacity

Providing cutting-edge production technology is good, but producing advanced chips in sufficient quantities to meet market demand is equally important. To that end, Samsung has announced that it will continue to invest heavily in building additional production capacity. In recent years, Samsung’s semiconductor capacity CapEx has been about $30 billion annually, and it doesn’t appear that it plans to cap its spending (although it’s notable that it hasn’t disclosed how much it plans to spend). worth).

Samsung plans to more than triple its “advanced” process technology production capacity by 2027. The company has not named which node it considers “advanced”, but it is expected that the next phase will add significantly to his EUV capabilities. 5 years – especially as his ASML EUV machines become available. Meanwhile, the company employs a “shell first” tactic for expansion, constructing buildings and cleanrooms first and adding equipment later depending on market conditions.

Samsung’s new fab under construction near Taylor, Texas, will be one of the company’s primary means of adding capacity in the next few years. start. As the company adds new tools to its fab and builds new phases, the site’s production capacity will further increase.

sauce: samsung