Samsung ratchets up chip war with TSMC
Samsung Electronics is pouring US$ 116- billion into its next- generation chip business that includes fabricating silicon for external clients, betting it can finally close the gap on industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co as soon as two years from now.
South Korea’s biggest company will mass produce 3nm chips in 2022, a senior executive at its foundry division told attendees at an invite- only event last month. That target, which hasn’t previously been reported, means it’s on a path to start churning out the industry’s most advanced semiconductors the same year as its Taiwanese rival expects to pass that milestone. Samsung is already developing initial design tools with key partners, Park Jae- hong, executive vice president of foundry design platform development, told conference delegates.
If Samsung succeeds, that will be a breakthrough for its ambition to become the chip maker of choice for the likes of Apple and AMD that now rely on foundries like TSMC. The business isn’t new to Samsung, which was the first manufacturer of Apple’s A- series iPhone processors, but the company’s renewed push is now shepherded by billionaire heir Jay Y Lee, who wants to see it establish tech leadership across advanced sectors like chip making and 5G networking to power its next phase of growth. Park’s comments suggest Samsung is accelerating its bid to compete with iPhone chip maker TSMC, one of the biggest beneficiaries of this year’s wave of stay- at- home demand for personal electronics.
We’ll keep innovating our cutting- edge process portfolio, while strengthening Samsung’s foundry ecosystem
“To actively respond to market trends and lower the design barrier for competitive systems- on- chip development, we’ll keep innovating our cutting- edge process portfolio, while strengthening Samsung’s foundry
ecosystem through close collaboration with partners,” Samsung’s Park told attendees, according to people at the event.
Samsung’s aim is in line with TSMC’s target of offering volume production of 3nm chips in the second half of 2022. But the Korean company also hopes to go one better by adopting what’s known as the Gate- All- Around technique, regarded by some as game- changing technology that can more precisely control current flows across channels, shrink chip areas and lower power consumption. TSMC had opted for the more established FinFET structure for its 3nm lines. Catching up fast
“Samsung is catching up to TSMC very fast and it seeks to achieve dominance over its competitor by adopting the new technology for the first time,” said Rino Choi, a professor of materials science and engineering at Inha University. “However, if Samsung can’t improve production yields of the advanced node fast in an initial stage, it may lose money.”
Already the world’s largest maker of computer memory and displays, Samsung wants a bigger share of the $ 250- billion foundry and logic- chip industry that’s set for accelerated growth with the advent of artificial intelligence and 5G wireless technology.
In 2019, TSMC controlled more than half of the contract chip- making market while Samsung had just 18 percent, according to TrendForce data.
Lee has taken a close interest in the matter. He flew to ASML Holding’s headquarters in the Netherlands last month to discuss supply of its extreme ultraviolet lithography ( EUV) machines, gear that’s indispensable to the creation of the most advanced semiconductors. Other top executives have toured major cities from San Jose to Munich and Shanghai, hosting foundry forums and negotiating deals.