NVIDIA representatives reduced their comments on the reasons for choosing Samsung 8nm technology for the production of gaming graphics solutions of the Ampere family to a laconic mention of higher performance. The Taiwanese press is now claiming that NVIDIA may become a TSMC customer receiving 5nm products in 2021.
Image source: TSMC
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It was obvious that NVIDIA turned to Samsung’s services in the production of rather complex and large GPUs of the Ampere family for the purpose of some optimization. Website DigiTimes explains that Samsung’s 8nm process technology could simply be cheaper, and Qualcomm was guided by similar considerations when choosing a contractor for the production of Snapdragon 750G mobile processors. Samsung’s own 7nm process is not getting along as smoothly as the Korean giant hoped, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 875 processors and X60 modems will be released using 5nm technology from early next year.
As you might expect, the Taiwanese media are praising TSMC’s progress in mastering advanced lithographic technology. Mass production of 5nm products began in the second quarter, and next year such products will be produced for AMD and NVIDIA, as well as Apple – the latter is credited with the desire to organize the production of a GPU of its own design for the new iMac.
By the end of 2020, TSMC will master the so-called 6nm technical process. An improved version of the 5nm technical process will be mastered in 2021, and in a year TSMC will already offer 4nm products. Mass production of 3nm products will begin in the second half of 2022, in this regard, the company is adhering to the previously outlined schedule. The 2nm technology will use a new ring-gate transistor structure (GAA), and research has already begun to master 1nm technology.
As specified, in the second half of next year and in 2022, TSMC expects to put on a stream the provision of services for the production of products with a complex spatial layout, which will combine the methods of SoIC, CoWoS and InFO. The emergence of such services will allow TSMC not only to satisfy customer needs, but also to increase business profitability. Samsung is already offering a spatial layout of the X-Cube that can be used within 7nm and 5nm technical processes, but so far the company does not have many customers ready to adopt it. NVIDIA and Qualcomm prefer the simpler and cheaper 8nm process technology.
Finally, TSMC is ready to produce 2nm products not only in the north of Taiwan in close proximity to its headquarters, but also in the central part of the island. If necessary, production facilities in this region will be expanded, and at the same time, a modern enterprise may appear in the south of Taiwan.
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