In an interview, Taiwan’s vice premier said he had already made strategic decisions about where TSMC would build a fab that could produce chips using 1nm-class (10 angstrom) manufacturing technology later this decade. said. Still, these chip production facilities come at a cost.
The TSMC fab, which manufactures chips using the 1nm-class production node, will be located near the Longtan Science Park near Taoyuan, Taiwan’s Vice Premier Shen Jong-ching said in an interview. economic daily (opens in new tab) (via Dan Neystedt (opens in new tab)). Of course, TSMC’s plans would need to be formalized, and a lot could change by the time the world’s largest foundry commits to plans, but the company has already given Taiwanese politicians general intentions. It seems to make it clear.
Two major semiconductor manufacturing projects create thousands of high-paying jobs, but also require investments never before seen in the industry.
The Deputy Chancellor estimates that TSMC will have to invest about $32 billion in 1nm fabs. That’s up from about $20 billion in he N5 and N3 (5nm and 3nm class) fabs the company currently operates.
So far, TSMC has outlined plans to begin manufacturing chips using its N2 (2nm class) manufacturing technology in the second half of 2025, which means the first ICs manufactured with this process will be released in 2026. It means that it is likely to appear on the market in Another long node from TSMC, the company plans to offer multiple versions of the node, including one with gate-all-around transistors and backside power delivery.
TSMC’s N1 will follow N2 in a few years. We don’t know TSMC’s exact plans for the N1, but he believes this manufacturing process will be used to manufacture ICs in 2027-2028. By the time ASML rolls out extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools with High-NA. These are expensive scanners, and N1-capable fabs will also be very expensive.
As a result, making chips on the 10A process technology will be expensive, so don’t expect many companies to adopt it.
In general, the vice premier believes companies such as TSMC, ASML and Micron will invest about $102.5 billion in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry to secure the country as a global center for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
