Items tagged with TSMC
Huawei has been embroiled in controversy after the U.S. Government accused the company of spying for China. Since those allegations, the Chinese manufacturer has struggled with trade bans with U.S. companies. Companies such as Qualcomm, Mediatek, and TSMC have been trying to hatch trade deals so they can send parts to Huawei. Now, TSMC seems like it has secured a contract with a caveat: it cannot deliver anything outside of “mature technology.” According to the report, “mature technology” and specifics of parts are not defined. GizChina states that, “it is generally accepted that products above the 28nm node are mature,” thus eliminating the possibility...
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TSMC is celebrating the production of 1 billion defect-free chips manufactured on its 7-nanometer technology, or put another way, 1 billion functional 7nm chips. If laid out on the ground, that would be enough to cover 13 Manhattan city blocks, the semiconductor fab says. It also equates to over 1 quintillion transistors. "A remarkable achievement for a technology that entered volume production in April 2018. Since then, we have manufactured 7nm chips for well over 100 products from dozens of customers...TSMC’s large-scale, efficient manufacturing means more than just producing a lot of chips quickly. It is critical to improving quality and reliability, and the learning enables technology...
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In recent weeks, Intel has been sharing some additional details about its discrete GPU plans, especially during its Architecture Day 2020 event last week. From a consumer standpoint, one of the more interesting revelations is the slotting of a high-end Xe-HPG GPU optimized for gaming into the lineup, which is scheduled to arrive sometime next year. In addition to what Intel has shared publicly, there is a report that it will tap TSMC to build its Xe-HPG chips on a 6-nanometer manufacturing process. The only part about about manufacturing that is officially confirmed right now is that Intel plans to source its Xe-HPG GPUs from an external source, rather than fab them itself. However, Intel has...
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Intel’s 7nm production delay has been well-documented over the past week, with the company explaining that the first products shipping using the process node won’t arrive until late 2022 or 2023 at the earliest. News of the pothole in the road for Intel sent its shares sliding, while AMD shares skyrocketed to new highs. During an investor call following its Q2 2020 earnings report, Intel did, however, comment that it was looking at contracting out work to third-party fabs when possible to help keep its roadmap somewhat intact. The most logical choice for Intel would be TSMC, which already produces chips for AMD, NVIDIA, Apple and many other high-profile players...
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NVIDIA has, for the first time, surpassed Intel to take the crown as the most valuable chipmaker in the United States. NVIDIA did this after its shares rose 2.3% in afternoon trading on Wednesday to reach $404 per share. When the stock hit that price per share, the company's market capitalization came in at $248 billion. On the same day, Intel's market capitalization was $246 billion. Intel was once the leading chipmaker in the entire world but has been on the decline amid fierce competition from NVIDIA and rival chipmaker AMD, among others. One move that has enabled NVIDIA to grow so much in recent years was its expansion outside of its traditional market of computer gaming chips into hardware...
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Seemingly out of left field, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) revealed it is planning to crank out chips based on a 4-nanometer manufacturing process. Described as an "evolution" from its 5nm node, TSMC says it is currently in discussions with potential customers about leveraging the node, which fills the gap between 5nm and 3nm. There is not a whole lot of information available yet. That is because the folks at EE Times caught wind of the previously unannounced node ahead of an official unveling, and TSMC chairman Mark Liu subsequently confirmed to the outlet that 4nm is indeed in the works. However, he stopped well short of discussing the technology in detail. We assume a formal...
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Every indication up to this point is that AMD's upcoming Zen 3 CPUs will be based on an enhanced 7-nanometer manufacturing process, with Zen 4 seeing an eventual shift to 5nm. But what if that was not the case? What if AMD decided to shake things up and jump straight to 5nm with its next round of CPUs instead, in pursuit of continued process leadership over rival Intel? That would certainly be something. On the desktop, Intel is still coaxing as much performance as it can out of its 14nm node, with 10nm silicon only showing up on mobile so far (like Ice Lake). This includes its latest round of processors, Comet Lake-S, which represents yet another iteration of 14nm. While there is more to the...
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Tensions between the United States government and China have proven a burden for Huawei, which at one point had aspirations of selling its products on domestic soil in stores like Best Buy and wireless outlets like AT&T. Those plans were crushed, and the challenges keep mounting. The latest development has the US government effectively barring TSMC from supplying semiconductors to Huawei. This comes by way of an amendment to the Entity List, which outlines specific license requirements and rules for exporting goods. According to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Huawei has been trying to undermine US export controls, and the amendment addresses its concerns by restricting the Chinese...
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The rumblings turned out to be true—Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has confirmed plans to build and operate another chip manufacturing plant in the United States, and specifically in Arizona. TSMC said it the made the decision with the understanding that it would receive support from the US government and Arizona officials. "TSMC welcomes continued strong partnership with the U.S. administration and the State of Arizona on this project. This project will require significant capital and technology investments from TSMC. The strong investment climate in the United States, and its talented workforce make this and future investments in the U.S. attractive to TSMC," the chip...
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Washington has been in talks with two of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world, Intel and TSMC, on bringing new chip manufacturing to the United States. The federal government has long had concerns with processors being built in China and other countries, where officials fear the electronics could be tampered with, potentially eroding national security. Both companies have confirmed that they are in discussions with the United States Department of Defense to improve domestic sources for microelectronics and related technology. Intel said in a statement that it is "well positioned" to work with the government to operate a commercial foundry that is U.S. owned and operated. The goal...
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The Arm-powered Mac – it’s an elusive hardware beast that has been rumored for around 4 years or so, with new reports resurfacing roughly every six months. It seems inevitable that Apple will ditch Intel as a processor supplier as it strives to bring more hardware design in-house, but it’s always been a question of “When?” Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo is now the latest to throw his hat in the ring with a prediction on initial availability for an Arm-powered Mac. According to Kuo, the first breakthrough device will land during the second half of 2021, which is more than a year away. The motivation for Apple moving away from Intel processors is obvious...
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TSMC has been critical to AMD’s resurgence as a dominant force in the processor market, and the company has also been beneficial in ensuring that Apple has a steady flow of A12 and A13 SoCs on hand for its hot-selling iPhone and iPad product lines. As TSMC is looking to grapple with the demands of these high-profile customers while shifting to smaller process nodes, it needs to invest in its fabs. Luckily for the company, its board this week approved approximately $6.7 billion to expand it facilities used to produce chips. The capital appropriations have been narrowed down to these five areas according to TSMC: Fab construction and installation of fab facility systems Installation...
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Tensions with China are growing as the U.S government fears that China is attempting to spy on Americans via the myriad of electronic devices built inside the country. Recently, Washington has pressured TSMC to produce the chips that are used inside U.S. military hardware within the United States. Reports indicate that the U.S. government wants to ensure that TSMC can build high-security components free from any Chinese interference. TSMC currently makes computer chips used in the Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lighting II fighter jet and is a key supplier for Apple and AMD. TSMC also supplies chips to Huawei, a Chinese smartphone maker that has had its run-ins with the U.S. government, but the ban on...
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There's some exciting news coming out of Taiwan this morning, and it involves TSMC wafer production and two of its most high-profile customers: AMD and Apple. Both AMD and Apple rely heavily on TSMC's 7nm fabs to produce their processors, with the former booking orders for its Navi GPUs and Zen 2-based processors, while the latter is under contract for the A12 Bionic and A13 Bionic SoCs. With this in mind, all eyes are on TSMC to see what the company has in store for production during 2020. According to the Taiwanese publication Apple Daily, TSMC's 7nm production capacity is completely spoken for until at least the latter half of 2020. The bulk of those orders will be coming from AMD, which...
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When it comes to 7nm chip production, TSMC has been on the bleeding edge of technological development. TSMC is the leading producer of 7nm designs for a number of leading tech giants like Qualcomm, AMD, and Apple (among others). While the company is well on its way to sampling 5nm parts to customers, it is also laying the groundwork for 3nm production in the near future. TSMC 3nm And 5nm Process Nodes The Electronic Times is reporting that TSMC has just begun construction on its next-generation 3nm fab. The manufacturing line is allegedly being constructed on 74 acres of land within the Southern Taiwan Science and Technology Park. TSMC reportedly has $19.5 billion at...
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There is reason to be optimistic AMD will deliver its next-generation Zen 3 processors on schedule. AMD's manufacturing partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), says it has begun mass producing chips based on its 7-nanometer plus (7nm+) Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. TSMC did not mention AMD by name, only that it is "delivering customer products to market in high volume." However, AMD has already confirmed its Zen 3 processors will be manufactured on a 7nm+ node, and said it August the design phase had been completed. At the time, AMD also stated the anticipated roll out of Zen 3 processors next year is "right on track." For TSMC, this 7nm+ node is its first...
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is countersuing rival semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries, alleging several instances of patent infringement related to the company's 40-nanometer, 28-nanometer, 22-nanometer, 14-nanometer, and 12-nanometer process nodes. As part of the lawsuit, TSMC is seeking "substantial monetary damages." The lawsuit appears to be in retaliation to multiple lawsuits GlobalFoundries filed in the US and Germany back on August 26. In its complaints, GlobalFoundries accused TSMC of infringing on 16 of its patents related to its 28nm, 16nm, 12nm, 10nm, and its most recent 7nm production lines. GlobalFoundries asked for an injunction on certain products that...
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GlobalFoundries rocked the tech industry yesterday when it announced that it had filed multiple lawsuits in the United States and in Germany alleging patent infringement abuses by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and its partners/customers. At the heart of the lawsuits are 16 patents covering 28nm, 16nm, 12nm, 10nm, and 7nm product lines. “For years, while we have been devoting billions of dollars to domestic research and development, TSMC has been unlawfully reaping the benefits of our investments," wrote GlobalFoundries SVP Gregg Barlett in a statement yesterday. "This action is critical to halt Taiwan Semiconductor’s unlawful use of our vital assets and...
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It looks like we have another patent fight brewing in the tech world, and this time the battle is between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and GlobalFoundries. The latter has filed multiple lawsuits against the former, alleging infringement on 16 patents. GlobalFoundries filed the lawsuits with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and with the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany. The reason why this particular legal showdown is so significant is because TSMC manufactures a wide range of chips covering a large segment of tech products on the market. For example, TSMC manufacturers GPU for NVIDIA (ala the GeForce RTX/RTX Super) and Qualcomm's family of dominant...
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If you own an Android phone, there is a high chance it is rocking a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor of some kind inside. Sometime in the not-too-distant future, Qualcomm will unleash a new flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 865, yet there is already talk of what comes after. That would be the Snapdragon 875, assuming Qualcomm sticks to its conventional naming scheme. Based on a recent leak, the Snapdragon 865 is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the current-generation Snapdragon 855 (and 855 Plus). Codename "Kona," a recent entry in Geekbench's database shows the Snapdragon 865 benefiting from a healthy boost in single-threaded performance, and posting gains in multi-threaded workloads. According...
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TSMC generated $7.75 billion in revenue during the second quarter of 2019, which is down 1.4 percent year-over-year but up 9.2 percent from the previous quarter. In a subsequent conference call with investors, TSMC talked about powering through softening economic conditions, and what the future holds in regards to 5-nanometer (nm) and 3nm process nodes. Referred to by TSMC as N5 and N3, the company is currently busy churning out N7 (or 7nm) silicon, as featured in AMD's third-generation Ryzen processors. AMD has also moved to a 7nm node for its newest generation Navi GPUs and is doing rather well for itself, with a gigantic assist from TSMC on the manufacturing front. Looking ahead, TSMC anticipates...
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TSMC has been a long-time partner for Apple in producing its A-Series SoCs that go in everything from the iPhone to the iPad to the HomePod smart speaker. A new report claims that Apple's next-generation SoC, the A13, is currently under production, with TSMC once again leading the charge. 2019 iPhone XS Max Mockup Early test chips reportedly entered production in April according to Bloomberg, while full-scale mass production is expected to kick off in June. Production will ramp quickly from there to ensure the Apple has enough supply to fuel a likely late September launch for the 2019 lineup of iPhones and new iPad Pro models. At this point, it's likely that TSMC will still be using a 7-nanometer...
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