AMD is currently on 7nm with both its Ryzen and Radeon products right now, NVIDIA is dabbling in 14/12nm with its GPUs and Intel -- well, Intel is being Intel with 14nm+++ (+++++++++++) and tipping its toes into 10nm. Well, TSMC is already forging ahead with 5nm, 3nm -- and now 2nm.
According to the latest rumbles, TSMC has just accelerated its R&D (research and development) into the next-gen 2nm node. TSMC is using its massive slush fund of $16 billion for R&D wisely, with 5nm planned to go into volume production in late-2020, while 3nm enters trial production in the first half of 2021 and should enter mass production in 2022.
TSMC is pushing faster with its future 2nm node, with the company acquiring more (and very expensive) EUV lithography (Extreme Ultra-Violet) machines for its new 2nm node. The investment into these bleeding edge EUV machines wasn't cheap, so TSMC's capital spending will not be revisited this year, and it will remain in the $16 billion range.
- Read more: AMD says TSMC's new 2nm node is superior to ALL alternatives, talks using Samsung Foundry
- Read more: Samsung to use more ASML High-NA EUV lithography tools to speed up 2nm GAA wafer production
- Read more: Apple 'not yet in talks with TSMC' to use bleeding-edge A16 process, no 1.6nm for Apple yet
2nm is currently only in developmental phases, with nothing locked down -- it is however some bleeding edge technology, and will be a big focus in the next couple of years. Intel should have 2nm by the year 2150.
The big question will be whether TSMC builds its new 2nm silicon in the United States or not, with President Trump having some of the very best technology made on this planet, made in the USA. TSMC's new 5nm fab will be built on American soil, you can read more about that here.
