Morris Chang, founder of TSMC, announced today that the semiconductor giant and Apple supplier will produce 3-nanometer chips at its facility in Arizona, though no concrete plans have been finalized as of yet. Construction of the factory is well underway, and it is scheduled to open in 2024.
As part of its second phase of expanding manufacturing in the United States, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chip maker, has confirmed plans to invest several billion of dollars in a new factory in Arizona (US).
A state-of-the-art semiconductor plant is planned to be constructed to the north of Phoenix, right next door to another chip factory the firm has been working to complete since 2021.
Almost all of the world’s most advanced processors are produced by TSMC, the largest foundry in the world. One of Taiwan’s major advantages over China, which treats Taiwan as a province, is the dominance of Taiwan’s semiconductor industries, but when international chip shortages hamper the production of electronics, this raises questions about the reliability of the supply chain.
TSMC claims that the N3 3-nanometer technology will be a complete node improvement over the 5-nanometer technology it replaces, and will provide a 70% increase in logic density, a 15% increase in speed while using the same power, and a 30% reduction in power while maintaining the same speed. Volume technology is a primary focus for the company as we move into the second part of the year.
It is anticipated that production of Apple’s first 3nm chips for the MacBook Pro will begin this year. According to another source, TSMC is planning to commence 3nm chip volume manufacturing by the end of the year for usage in future MacBook models and other goods. It is not expected that TSMC would see significant revenue from 3nm chip manufacture until at least the first quarter of 2023.
The Biden administration’s plan to strengthen U.S. chipmaking includes TSMC’s Arizona factory and a second one purportedly in the planning stages. TSMC is also in discussions with the German government to establish a second factory there.
