The development of 5 nm is on schedule
Referring to “numerous sources in Taiwan,” our colleagues claim that the company brought production at 5 nm standards to design capacity, but the development of 3 nm standards will be delayed for at least six months. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the manufacturer will not be able to get the necessary equipment on time. This means that starting the production of 3-nanometer products earlier than in 2022 will fail.
Due to the pandemic, TSMC will be delayed with the development of 3 nm standards for at least six months
It is planned to master the 3 nm standards at Fab 18, where production has been established according to the 5 nm standards. The factory is being built in four phases. The capacities commissioned during the first two were allocated for the production of 5-nanometer products, and the rest – for the production of 3-nanometer products. It was possible to complete the first two phases of construction and install the equipment before the pandemic.
Since scanners operating in the hard ultraviolet range (EUV) are still inferior in power to scanners operating in the ultraviolet range, the performance of new lines producing 5-nanometer microcircuits is significantly lower than the performance of their predecessors. Note that in the 7-nanometer N7 + manufacturing process, EUV lithography is used to form some layers, while in N7 and N7P, it is not. The new process technology is the first fully developed for EUV. In it, using EUV, more than ten layers are formed. The use of EUV reduces the total number of steps so that the manufacturing time of the crystals is reduced.
