Items tagged with TSMC
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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 production 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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
In just a few weeks, AMD is expected to roll out its new Ryzen 3000 series of CPUs based on its Zen 2 architecture. These new parts are being built by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) on a 7-nanometer node. Looking ahead, however, TSMC is already talking about 6nm and even 5nm, the latter of which will bring improved logic density by 1.8X over 7nm, the company says. TSMC talked a little bit about its 5nm manufacturing process during a recent earnings call with investors. The company said its 5nm development is "well on track," having entered a phase called "risk production" in the first quarter. It expects a "tape out" in the first half of 2020. That is when designs by clients...
Read more...
AMD is on the cusp of releasing a new generation of Ryzen processors based on its 7-nanometer Zen 2 architecture, and from everything we have heard to this point, it is going to be an exciting launch. Looking beyond Zen 2, however, is where things may get truly interesting, as AMD's Zen 3 architecture transitions to a 7nm+ extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) manufacturing process. Each new generation should bring a jump in IPC (instructions per clock) performance and better power efficiency, and we certainly expect that to be the case with Zen 2, and later Zen 3. What's interesting about Zen 3, though, is it will be the first semiconductor design to incorporate Taiwain Semiconductor Manufacturing...
Read more...
Apple's push for new iPhone models comes as consumers are staying away from new devices and holding onto old phones for longer. The extended upgrade cycle is in part Apple's own doing due to the battery replacement program it was running and the high retail prices of its devices. Rumors have circulated that suggest Apple plans to launch three new iPhone models in 2019, which will hopefully turn around the sales slide. Reports have surfaced that claim Apple will continue to exclusively use TSMC to build the new A13 chips used in iPhone models. TSMC will build the A13 chips using its 7nm process according to the report. TSMC is also building AMD's Zen 2 CPUs and 7nm Vega 20 GPUs. Volume production...
Read more...
AMD is going all-in on 7-nanometer manufacturing for both its CPUs and GPUs, and it doesn't look like the company will have to worry about low inventories. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly seen a reduction in 7nm orders from Apple, HiSilicon, and Qualcomm, and subsequently will not be operating at full capacity on its 7nm assembly lines. Looking ahead, AMD has its Zen 2 processor and Navi GPU architectures around the bend, both of which are being built on a 7nm manufacturing process. It's important to note that AMD does not build the actual chips—it's a fabless outfit that designs the silicon, and then has companies like TSMC and GlobalFoundries produce the...
Read more...
