Apple, Intel will be the first two companies to produce chips using TSMC’s 3nm process

Apple and Intel are testing chip designs based on TSMC’s 3nm chip manufacturing technology. Nikkei Asia reports that the new 3nm chip lines will start production next year, and commercial production of 3nm chips will increase in the second half of 2022.

Compared to the current generation 5nm technology, the 3nm process is expected to improve performance by up to 15% and reduce power consumption by 25% to 30%.

According to sources of Nikkei Asia, Apple may bring the first 3nm processor chip to the iPad. Meanwhile, Intel is in the process of designing a new line of chips for both laptops and data center applications.

Among the two companies, Intel has ensured that it can supply enough chips running on 3nm technology.

While the nanometer metric used to represent the distance between transistors on a chip, this is no longer the case. Now it is only used mainly for marketing purposes. However, the basic rule is that the smaller the technological process, the more advanced the chip.

In recent years, the US has grown increasingly worried about not being able to keep up with Asian chipmakers such as TSMC and Samsung.

Intel, despite its decades of leading chip design and manufacturing capabilities, is having a hard time implementing the 7nm chip manufacturing process, let alone 5nm or 3nm. As a result, Intel will be forced to rely on chips made by competitors.

Earlier this week, Intel also confirmed the delay of the Xeon Sapphire chip generation running on the 10nm line. Accordingly, the line will only be able to start mass production from Q2/2022, significantly later than the original plan of the end of this year.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger describes the company’s relationship with TSMC as a mix of cooperation and competition. The US company earlier this year confirmed it would work with TSMC on several chip projects, marking the first time in history that it will outsource the production of its core products. Intel confirmed it is working with TSMC on a product line launched in 2023 but did not disclose too much information.

US officials said that Intel’s delay in deploying 7nm chip manufacturing technology posed a security risk and the Department of Energy had switched from using chips made by Intel to chips made by TSMC on supercomputers. , although these chips are not made in the US.

In order to regain its leading position in some areas, the US is implementing a series of new strategies including preparing an investment package worth 52 billion USD. If approved, this funding package will contribute to strengthening semiconductor manufacturing and R&D capabilities for many US technology and chip companies.

US President Biden said: “We are in a competition to win the 21st century and the gunfire has started. As other countries continue to invest in research and development, we will. risk falling behind.”

Meanwhile, TSMC continues to accelerate to widen the gap with rivals. In January 2021, the company announced record spending to boost production capacity and develop chip technology.

Refer to Reuters