[The Exiled]

TSMC ramping up 7nm chip production

TSMC has started commercial production of chips built using 7nm process technology, according to company CEO CC Wei. The foundry is also scheduled to move a newer 5nm node technology to mass production at the end of 2019 or early-2020. The ramp-up of 7nm chip output will boost TSMC's overall production capacity to 12 million 12-inch equivalent wafers in 2018, up 9% from 10.5 million units in 2017, Wei indicated, without elaborating on specific orders and customers. TSMC will tape out more than 50 chip designs with its 7nm process technology by the end of 2018. AI, GPU and cryptocurrency applications take up the majority of the tape-outs, followed by 5G and application processors. TSMC will also start taping out chips built using an enhanced 7nm node with EUV in the second half of 2018. The foundry expects to move the node to risk production in the third quarter. The foundry has secured 7nm chip orders from about 20 customers including AMD, Bitmain, nVidia and Qualcomm. The majority of the orders will be carried out in the first half of 2019, the sources said.

Izvor: DigiTimes