TSMC will be the world's first with 3nm fab in Taiwan

TSMC is running directly into the arms of 3nm fabrication, with the Taiwanese semiconductor company announcing the locaiton of their first 3nm fab, which will be build in Tainan Science Park, in southern Taiwan.

The decision to build it in Taiwan versus the rumors of a US production plant is so that TSMC can use their assets and supply chain for the production and support of many customers like AMD, NVIDIA, who will want 3nm designs made. The Taiwanese government also provided a lending hand, with land, water, electricity and environmental protection offered to TSMC for their latest manufacturing plant. Some of the new 3nm manufacturing machines will be supplied by ASML, a Netherlands-based company.

As for when we can expect 3nm production to kick off... 2022 at the earliest. TSMC has teased that the 7nm yields are currently ahead of schedule, so we should expect 7nm-based products released in 2018. The 5nm roadmap is still on track, expected to launch in Q1 2019.

• Read more: TSMC seeks land for new CoWoS advanced packaging plant, struggles to keep up with AI demand
• Read more: TSMC's first fab in Kumamoto, Japan secures initial orders from Sony and Denso
• Read more: TSMC plans to set up 'Giga Fabs' in Taiwan as it speeds into 1nm chip production