TSMC’s cutting-edge enterprise is capable of producing up to one million 5nm silicon wafers annually
Technological nuances are such that TSMC is forced to build a new enterprise for almost every new technical process. Fab 18, which began production of 5nm products, combines six production cases. It can produce up to one million silicon wafers with 5nm components annually, TSMC said at a recent event.
Fab 18 began mass production of 5nm products in the second quarter of this year, although construction of the factory began only in January 2018. AnandTech website reports that by the end of this year TSMC will increase the production of 5nm products to 11% of the total. Earlier, TSMC representatives admitted that in terms of revenue, 5-nm products by the end of the year will determine up to 10% of the company’s consolidated revenue.
The same source explains that the density of defects in the production of 5nm products on the TSMC conveyor is now lower than at a similar stage in the life cycle of a 7nm technical process. It is possible that this can be explained by the more intensive use of layers treated with ultra-hard ultraviolet radiation (EUV). The transition to this processing method reduces the number of technological stages, at each of which defects can inevitably occur.
