TSMC to Start Mass Production of 3nm Products in Taiwan on 29th... Concerns Over 'Detaiwanization'?

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer), will begin mass production of 3-nanometer (nm; 1 nm is one billionth of a meter) products using 3D structure FinFET technology at its Taiwan factory on the 29th.

According to Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on the 25th, TSMC announced that it will hold a commemorative event on the 29th at Fab 18 in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan and explain future plans. This fab is known to have produced 5-nanometer products until now.

TSMC plans to apply the '3nm 2nd generation process (N3E)' based on 3-nanometer technology starting next year, and it is reported that they plan to produce effective products with better process yield (the ratio of good products to total production) than currently.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Locally in Taiwan, TSMC's holding of a mass production ceremony for the introduction of new technology was considered unusual. The market views this as TSMC actively investing overseas while publicly signaling its intention to keep Taiwan as a hub for research, development, and production.

Earlier, TSMC announced that it is producing 4-nanometer semiconductors at its Arizona Phase 1 fab and plans to produce 3-nanometer semiconductor chips at the Phase 2 fab. The total investment for the two fabs amounts to $40 billion (approximately 51.3 trillion KRW).

In Taiwan, concerns about 'de-Taiwanization' have continued since the announcement that advanced manufacturing processes such as 3-nanometer technology would be applied at the U.S. fabs. In response, Taiwanese government officials including Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua have denied these claims. Last month, Minister Wang also stated that the latest semiconductor processes below 3 nanometers will remain in Taiwan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.