TSMC's 3-nm progress report: Better than expected

By Majeed Ahmad, EDN (March 8, 2023)

TSMC, which vowed to kickstart its 3-nm process node in the second half of 2022, barely made it by cutting the ribbon on this cutting-edge manufacturing node on December 29 at its expanded fabrication unit in Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP). Nearly six months after Samsung began 3-nm chip production based on gate-all-around (GAA) technology, TSMC has successfully conducted its full-node advance from 5-nm to 3-nm chip manufacturing process based on tried-and-test FinFET transistor architecture.

According to media reports, Apple has secured 100% of the initial supply of N3, TSMC’s first-generation 3-nm process, starting as a baseline. The early reports show that the N3 process yield could be as high as 80%. Next, TSMC plans to move to a more advanced 3-nm version, N3E, in the second half of 2023. That’s when other TSMC customers—AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm—plan to adopt the 3-nm process for their chips.

N3, which uses an ultra-complex process with 24-layer multi-pattern extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, is denser and thus offers higher logic density. On the other hand, N3E, which uses a simpler 19-layer single-pattern technology, is easier to produce and is less expensive. It’ll also use less power and clock higher compared to the baseline N3 process.

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