TSMC will start the mass production of its next-gen cutting-edge chips this week

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www.phonearena.com, Dec. 26, 2022 – 

The world's largest chip foundry, TSMC, is about to kick off mass production of cutting-edge chips using its 3nm process node. To put it in simple terms, as the process node number drops, the transistors used to build these integrated circuits become smaller allowing more of them to fit inside a small, dense space like a chip. And the higher a chip's transistor count, the more powerful and energy-efficient it is.

For example, the A13 Bionic used to power 2019's iPhone 11 series was produced using TSMC's enhanced 7nm process node. That SoC carried 8.5 billion transistors. This year's A16 Bionic was manufactured by TSMC using its 4nm process node and sports nearly 16 billion transistors. Next year's A17 Bionic is expected to roll off of TSMC's assembly lines having been built with TSMC's enhanced 3nm process node (we will return to that soon).

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra are expected to feature the 3nm A17 Bionic chipset

Apple is TSMC's largest customer and it is responsible for 25% of the company's revenue. Digitimes (via MacRumors) writes that this week, TSMC is expected to start mass production of components using the 3nm process node; before the A17 Bionic finds its way into the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra, Apple might place its 3nm M2 Pro chip into the MacBook Pro and the Mac Mini.

TSMC's 3nm chips will continue to use FinFET transistors (at left) while Samsung's 3nm chips will use GAA - TSMC will start the mass production of its next-gen cutting-edge chips this week

TSMC's 3nm chips will continue to use FinFET transistors (at left) while Samsung's 3nm chips will use GAA

This Thursday, TSMC is expected to mark the beginning of 3nm mass production by holding a ceremony at Fab 18 at the Southern Taiwan Science Park. At the event, TSMC will discuss its plans to expand 3nm production at that fab. The A17 Bionic and the M3 chip are both expected to ship later next year having been built using TSMC's enhanced 3nm process node.

The only other foundry in the world able to mass produce at 3nm presently is Samsung Foundry. The latter uses gate-all-around (GAA) transistors which allow for more precise control of current flow through each transistor. This is accomplished by having the gates (which turn on and off to allow or block current flow) come into contact with the channels on all sides. With GAA, power efficiency is improved. Simply put, chips using GAA transistors run faster and consume less power than chips using FinFET transistors.

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