TSMC makes progress on 5nm with complete infrastructure design and risk production

[onetheycallEric]

Why it matters: In order to remain competitive and retain its manufacturing leadership, TSMC has to continue to execute on its foundry roadmap. With its 5nm design infrastructure complete and 5nm chips being in risk production, TSMC looks to be in a good position and can look forward to an influx in contracts for 5nm chips. TSMC had previously targeted 5nm volume production for 2020, with 3nm set for 2022.

TSMC has announced that it has completed infrastructure design on its 5nm process node that will leverage the company's second generation of extreme ultraviolet (EUV), as well as deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography. TSMC's 5nm chips will be aimed at SoC designs, 5G mobile applications, AI, and high performance computing.

According to early numbers on an Arm Cortex-A72 core, TSMC's 5nm process will deliver 1.8 times the density and a 15 percent gain in clock speeds compared to 7nm, and that's based on process refinements alone. TSMC also notes that its second generation of EUV will both simplify the manufacturing process and present excellent yield learning, allowing the process to mature more quickly.

TSMC has also completed development of its 5nm Design Rule Manual (DRM), SPICE model (simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis), and process design kits (PDK). The entirety of the 5nm design infrastructure is available for TSMC customers via TSMC Online. TSMC also notes it has chips in risk production with its alpha customers, which likely indicates volume production could ramp in 2020. That would align with TSMC's previous plans to hit 5nm by 2020 and 3nm by 2022.

TSMC continues to maintain process prowess and leadership, and earning a lot of chip contracts as such. Meanwhile, a lot of companies have seemingly lost faith in Intel, the once market leader.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/79541-tsmc-makes-progress-5nm-complete-infrastructure-design-risk.html

 

[Vulcanproject]

Now you know why AMD handed over everything they had to TSMC. They are storming ahead on process technology.

Intel have been stuck on 14nm and refinements of it for 5 entire years now. Unprecedented for them.

AMD using TSMC's technology has beaten Intel to the next gen (10nm Intel is roughly = 7nm TSMC) and unless Intel throw everything they have at their node below 10nm AMD will probably have next next gen products out first as well. Things are rosy for the red team CPU side.

Now all they need to do is sort out the steaming pile that is their high end consumer graphics division. The bizarre situation about this is perhaps Intel's discrete GPU next year could pose serious threat to AMD's GPU offerings.

Who knows. That could be a very strange situation in another year or so!

 

[yRaz]

Now you know why AMD handed over everything they had to TSMC. They are storming ahead on process technology.

Intel have been stuck on 14nm and refinements of it for 5 entire years now. Unprecedented for them.

AMD using TSMC's technology has beaten Intel to the next gen (10nm Intel is roughly = 7nm TSMC) and unless Intel throw everything they have at their node below 10nm AMD will probably have next next gen products out first as well. Things are rosy for the red team CPU side.

Now all they need to do is sort out the steaming pile that is their high end consumer graphics division. The bizarre situation about this is perhaps Intel's discrete GPU next year could pose serious threat to AMD's GPU offerings.

Who knows. That could be a very strange situation in another year or so!

I bet you hate terquoise

 

[HardReset]

Now you know why AMD handed over everything they had to TSMC. They are storming ahead on process technology.

No. AMD put everything 7nm and lower to TSMC just because GlobalFoundries abandoned 7nm and beyond.

 

[Uncle Al]

As far as the computer world is considered The increasing shrinking just dosen't seem to be all that necessary. Now, if you're talking cell phone technology it's a different story but just how small do they need to be? I guess you could get one you could put under your fingernail, just be selective as to which one or it could short out when you pick your nose and fry your brain ......

 

[pcnthuziast]

What Intel did with 14nm is what's noteworthy. It took AMD on 7nm for a couple years to match what Intel did with 14. Intel on 10 will reign for a few years at least.

 

[HardReset]

What Intel did with 14nm is what's noteworthy. It took AMD on 7nm for a couple years to match what Intel did with 14. Intel on 10 will reign for a few years at least.

Intel's 10nm roughly matches TSMC 7nm. By time Intel finally gets 10nm working, TSMC will have at least 7nm EUV that again is better than anything Intel has, and quite probably 5nm that is even better than 7nm EUV.

Intel screwed up and now TMSC is miles ahead.