TSMC Plans New Fab for 3nm

Alan Patterson, EETimes
12/12/2016 00:00 AM EST

TAIPEI — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said that it plans to build its next fab for chips made at the 5-nm to 3-nm technology node as early as 2022 as it aims for industry leadership.

As the semiconductor industry consolidates, chipmakers TSMC, Samsung, and Intel are in a tight race to lead process technology development and grab profitable business from fabless customers such as Apple and Qualcomm. TSMC is looking more than five years ahead at a fab site in a new science park planned by the Taiwan government near the city of Kaohsiung, on the southern tip of the island.

“Taiwan’s minister of science and technology (Yang Hung-duen) met TSMC a few months ago, so we took the opportunity to present to him our future plans,” said director of corporate communications Elizabeth Sun, confirming reports in the local press citing Yang. “We wanted him to know that we need a piece of land, because the other science parks in Taiwan are pretty full.”

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