TSMC releases latest advanced process roadmap, N4 and N3 mass production time points have been determined

The annual TSMC Technology Seminar was held online for the first time. Luo Zhenqiu, general manager of TSMC (Nanjing) Co., Ltd., interpreted it positively. The epidemic has made networking and digital transformation a general trend, and the important role played by semiconductor technology has become increasingly prominent. TSMC and semiconductor companies should seize the opportunity to create a grand event together.

TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia

At the seminar, TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia also brought up the company's latest process roadmap and future plans. The full text of his speech is summarized as follows:

This pandemic has been difficult for people all over the world, especially those who have to isolate themselves from their loved ones, including you who are sitting in front of your computer right now. Fortunately, with the help of technology, we can at least stay in touch with each other and cheer each other up.

Our industry has done a lot to make this possible, but semiconductor technology has a bigger impact than that. Computing power can help researchers and scientists gain a deeper and broader understanding of this disease, and find treatments.

In addition, temperature sensors, self-driving logistics vehicles, and robotics technology have become even more important because of your innovations as the world fights the epidemic together.

We must work together and continue to make more contributions in the future. Even after the epidemic subsides, I hope we can continue to support the development of antidotes or vaccines.

Due to the impact of the epidemic, you and I feel that digital transformation is accelerating, and our semiconductor technology can facilitate many 5G-related applications. For example, 5G and mobile phones. 5G mobile phones can be your production tools, entertainment rooms, health trackers, and the control center of smart home systems. And they are more powerful and more reliable than any previous tools. If you love sports events, you will also benefit from 5G. For example, when you come to a 5G stadium, you can share the wonderful moments you see with your friends more timely and quickly. If 5G is combined with VRAR technology, you can enjoy an immersive sense of presence no matter where you are.

After returning to work in the office, many people think it is great to communicate with colleagues face to face, but when they think of traffic jams, everyone feels a headache. However, the good news is that 5G may one day help us alleviate traffic jams. That is because 5G networks can connect vehicles and use transportation infrastructure to allow traffic management units to monitor traffic conditions in a timely manner and effectively control traffic flow.

5G has a great effect on the manufacturing industry, because 5G's connectivity combined with industrial IoT devices will allow factories to incorporate more automation technologies and achieve real-time data analysis, completely changing the way factories operate. If 5G is further applied to artificial intelligence big data analysis and billions of connected devices, these technologies will be able to shine through intelligent connections. These exciting and important developments are opportunities for us to cooperate.

With TSMC's world-class technology and your product innovation, we will definitely be able to achieve more. TSMC will work hard to implement our mission, which is to become your trusted technology and production capacity provider, and promise to help you continue to innovate with technology leadership and manufacturing excellence. Our industry-leading N7 technology is a good example. After entering mass production, N7 has brought many innovations, from high-performance computing for mobile devices, artificial intelligence, 5G network connection devices, and many advanced and influential product applications such as smart centers to smart cars, all use our N7 technology. Let me report to you that we have recently reached the milestone of shipping 1 billion units. Thank you for choosing N7 to realize various cutting-edge product innovations.

Speaking of our success in N7, despite facing more daunting challenges, we quickly put N7 into mass production, and the mass production speed is comparable to that of the previous generation of technology. What is even more amazing is that one year after N7 went into mass production, we put N7's enhanced version technology N7+ into mass production, becoming the first EUV process to enter commercial operation. N7+ continues to maintain a high yield and is highly competitive in terms of logic density and speed.

At the same time, Fab 18 is accelerating the mass production of N5 this year, using the industry's most advanced process technology to provide the best PPA. Compared with N7, N5 has increased speed by 15%, reduced power consumption by 30%, and increased power density by 80%. The N5 process widely uses EUV technology, further consolidating TSMC's leadership in advanced processes.

Just as we developed N5 technology based on N7, we are now developing N4 based on N5 to further expand our leading position in advanced processes while also meeting your broad product needs. N4 is the newest member of the 5nm process family, with further improvements in speed, power consumption and density, and 100% IP compatibility with N5, so it can use the existing design infrastructure of N5 to accelerate product innovation. N4 will start trial production in the fourth quarter of 2021.

I will also report on the progress of N3 technology. This process has innovative miniaturization features. Compared with N5, it can increase speed by 15%, reduce power by 30%, and increase logic density by 70%. Trial production is expected to begin in 2021 and mass production in the second half of 2022.

At the same time, we are also working closely with customers to define the specifications and schedule for the next major node after N3.

In addition to advanced logic processes, let me talk about TSMC's complete special process technology, including MEMS, CMOS IMAGe Sensor, eFlash, RF analog, high-voltage BCD power, etc. Special processes play a key role in realizing human-computer interaction and extending human perception and action capabilities. Because of the expansion of the above capabilities, the demand for semiconductors in various networked devices has increased significantly.

In addition to being connected to the Internet, portable edge devices must have more intelligence to process large amounts of data. The semiconductor technology used in these connected edge devices must meet the requirements of low power consumption. In response to such requirements, TSMC recently launched the N12e to achieve lower power consumption while maintaining high-performance computing capabilities. Without sacrificing speed and logic density, the N12e further improves power efficiency and supports ultra-low leakage devices and ultra-low Vdd designs as low as 0.4 volts, which is a major breakthrough in the industry. With the N12e, we can help achieve more innovations in smart IoT, mobile devices, and other product applications, bringing positive changes to human life.

While we continue to work hard to achieve transistor miniaturization, we also find that 2D miniaturization is not enough to support system integration needs. Thanks to TSMC's forward-looking investment and R&D efforts, 3D IC technology has become a viable path that can simultaneously meet the needs of system performance, area reduction, and integration of different functions. We have the industry's most advanced wafer-level 3D IC technology, from wafer stacking to advanced packaging, to help you achieve more efficient system integration.

Through our continued collaboration on innovation, I would like to announce that we have integrated multiple 3D IC platforms together, named TSMC 3D Fabric, to continue to provide the industry's most complete and versatile solutions for integrating logic, confirming high-frequency memory and special process experience, to enable more innovative product designs for you.

Today I have talked a lot about TSMC's technological leadership and manufacturing excellence, both of which help us gain a competitive advantage. But what really sets us apart from our competitors is the trust we have built with you over the past 33 years. Since TSMC was founded, customer trust has been our core value, our mission, and an integral part of TSMC's business model.

But how do we turn customer trust into action? The most important thing is that we never compete with our customers. We never launch our own products, so we can invest all our resources and focus on ensuring your success.

I believe that trust can also help strengthen a group and contribute to the world together, just like our semiconductor industry. At this time when semiconductor progress is getting faster and faster, innovation is more important than ever. We will also invest more energy to help everyone innovate. As long as we work together, we can do more.