TSMC to Build 3nm Fab in Taiwan
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) today announced that the company's planned advanced 3nm fab will be located in the Tainan Science Park in southern Taiwan.
The world's larget chip maker said the position of the new fab will help the company fully leverage its existing cluster advantage and the benefit of a comprehensive supply chain.
TSMC has been pushing the Taiwan government to have land and supplies of electricity ready in time for the new project. In the past, TSMC has faced shortages of water and power in Taiwan, where the company still does most of its production.
As part of the pressure to the Taiwanese gonvernment, TSMC has said that the US wsd among several sites which TSMC was considering for its 3nm fab.
President Trump's statements that the US may increase taxes and tariffs on companies which off-shore their manufacturing and assembly operations before selling the finished product in the US, may had also helped get the USA on TSMC's list of possible sites.
But now, the Taiwanese company said it "recognizes and is grateful for the Taiwan government's clear commitments to resolve any issues, including land, water, electricity and environmental protection."
Dr. Mark Liu, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of TSMC has said in the past that the company will use its three-dimensional stacked architecture technology to break the limitation of Moore's law and move toward the 3nm manufacturing node. The fabrication facility will presumably feature extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV).
According to optimistic plans, the 3nm advanced process could come on stream in 2023.
TSMC makes 10nm processors mostly for smartphone chip designers, including Huawei Technology, and it plans to ramp up 7-nanometer chips next year. TSMC?s 5-nanometer chips will enter mass production in 2020, the company said.