Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday raised its investment on an advanced Tainan factory to a total of NT$1.86 trillion (US$60.5 billion) to boost advanced technologies capacity including 3-nanometer, after its plans to produce chips in the US triggered concerns at home over technology outflow and talent drain.
That represented a significant increase from the NT$700 billion the chipmaker announced in 2018 on the Tainan “giga-fab," dubbed Fab 18, to produce 5-nanometer chips, and establish a research and development (R&D) team. The company at the time said that it would reserve half of the facility’s space for the production of 3-nanometer chips.
TSMC, the world's biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday launched the eighth phase of construction at Fab 18 to mass produce 3-nanometer chips, the most advanced chips available.
Photo: Reuters
TSMC began making 5-nanometer chips at the fab in 2020 and the commencement of 3-nanometer chip production follows Moore’s Law, which postulates that the number of transistors on computer chips would double every two years, it said.
“Powered by the megatrends of 5G and high-performance computing, TSMC’s 3-nanometer technology is experiencing strong market demand,” TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) told a ceremony in Tainan marking the beginning of mass production of 3-nanometer chips and capacity expansion.
The moves show TSMC’s strength in the development of advanced technology and capacity expansion to satisfy customer demand, as well as its preparations for the next wave of growth in the semiconductor industry, Liu said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
TSMC is also building 3-nanometer chip capacity in Arizona. The company earlier this month said that it plans to invest US$40 billion to make 3-nanometer and 4-nanometer chips at its Arizona facilities, which are under construction.
Chips made using 3-nanometer technology would power supercomputers, cloud-based data centers, high-speed Internet-connected devices, mobile devices and augmented-reality devices, as well as virtual-reality gadgets.
Apple Inc, Nvidia Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc are usually the first adopters of TSMC’s most advanced chips.
TSMC estimates that revenue from 3-nanometer chips in the first year of mass production would be higher than the income generated by 5-nanometer chips in the first year of their mass production in 2020.
The chipmaker expects its 3-nanometer technology to create end products with a market value of US$1.5 trillion within five years.
TSMC would start plans to build up capacity in Hsinchu and Kaohsiung next year, Liu said.
The company said that it is also making preparations for 2-nanometer fabs, which would be at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) and the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), with a total of six phases proceeding as planned.
TSMC said that it plans to launch a global R&D center at the Hsinchu science park in the second quarter of next year.
The center would be staffed by 8,000 R&D personnel, it said.
“TSMC is maintaining its technology leadership while investing significantly in Taiwan, continuing to invest and prosper with the environment. This ceremony demonstrates that we are taking concrete action to develop advanced technology and expand capacity in Taiwan,” Liu said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS