TSMC Prepping 20nm Manufacturing Process

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TSMC appears to be busier than ever buying and preparing equipment to start the 20 nm production process.

A report from DigiTimes indicates that TSMC has been busy lately with acquiring equipment and preparing to cross over to 20 nm lithography. According to the report, the company will be making the switch in Q1 2014. Shipments for the 16 nm HKMG process have also started, and the company expects mass production of FinFETs to commence about a year from now.

The report also indicated that the company has tripled its revenues from 28 nm wafers over 2013, as compared to 2012. The company has raised its 2013 capex target to a staggering and record breaking $9.5 to $10 billion.

It is also reasonable to expect that the number of 28 nm chips will decrease as the 20 nm process starts, meaning multiple firms might be switching over to the 20 nm production process simultaneously.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • anxiousinfusion
    This was much quicker than expected. I tip my hat.
    Reply
  • aggroboy
    So I guess we are still looking at late 2H 2014 for 20nm GPUs?
    Reply
  • danwat1234
    14nm APUs from Intel
    Reply
  • Shankovich
    Looks like Maxwell with either be delayed a year or be 28nm then. I really think it'll be delayed then, I don't think nVidia would like to still be on 28nm chips.
    Reply
  • bison88
    @Shankovich - Huh? Previous reports were targeting Q2 2014 20nm starting and ramping up in Q3/Q4 2014. Why would Nvidia push back Maxwell (20nm) when their schedule already targets an annual release of next-gen products in the Spring, especially now that TSMC is moving ahead of their previous schedule by a Quarter.

    If anything that can almost guarantee Maxwell will be back on schedule at 20nm just in time and if anything I can guarantee you AMD/Nvidia, two of TSMC's biggest clients, are working tightly with them on time lines for each of there products.
    Reply
  • vmem
    Maxwell here we come!!!
    Reply
  • Shankovich
    @bison88 Last time I checked they were saying Q1 2014, sorry I guess I'm a bit behind in news haha. That's great then, that means AMD and nVidia will launch new architectures in the same window and we'll have even ground (timing wise) again :D
    Reply
  • blubbey
    Maxwell it is then.
    Reply
  • ptmmac
    I suspect Apple is working with TSMC to move it's production on 20nm for the iPhone. Apple could easily guarantee 4 or 5 billion in Revenue for the A8 chip. I would not be surprised if Apple updated the chip in the iPhone this June while doing the larger format screen. Their traditional 3 tiered production system which is evident in Macs and iPods would tend to indicate that there is a missing product on this new launch. Apple is also well know for paying for Cap Ex on their suppliers equipment to take some of the risk out of those upfront expenses. It is not like the 150 billion in reserves Apple keeps would be useful in pledging for such endeavors.
    Reply
  • Duckhunt
    Can it play Crysis? :P
    Reply