TSMC's new $15.7 billion fab will make 3nm, 5nm chips

TSMC plans to spend $15.7 billion on a new fabrication facility that will make 3nm and 5nm chips.

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TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) announced that it will spend $15.7 billion on a new facility to create 3nm and 5nm chips.

TSMC's new $15.7 billion fab will make 3nm, 5nm chips 3

The new facility will be based in Taiwan, and may use the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography process to fabricate 3nm and 5nm chips. Back in July of this year, TSMC affirmed it's made strides in its EUV technology, implementing 125W EUV source into its ASML NXE:3350 equipment.

"We're asking the government to help us find a plot that is large enough (123 to 197 acres) and has convenient access so we can build an advanced chip plant to manufacture 5 nm and 3 nm chips," TSMC spokesperson Elizabeth Sun told TechPowerUp.

TSMC exec Mark Liu has confirmed that the company will experiment with 7nm chip-building processes throughout 2017, and plans to move ahead to 5nm and 3nm-based chips in 2020. In fact, TSMC has assigned 300 engineers to research 2nm chip-building processes.

TSMC's new $15.7 billion fab will make 3nm, 5nm chips 4

The 10nm FinFET process is expected to become profitable for major manufacturers like Qualcomm, with the company teasing a 48-core processor built on the 10nm process.

In fact, Qualcomm has recently revealed the Snapdragon 835, the first-ever SoC built on the 10nm node process.

Derek joined the TweakTown team in 2015 and has since reviewed and played 1000s of hours of new games. Derek is absorbed with the intersection of technology and gaming, and is always looking forward to new advancements. With over six years in games journalism under his belt, Derek aims to further engage the gaming sector while taking a peek under the tech that powers it. He hopes to one day explore the stars in No Man's Sky with the magic of VR.

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