TSMC’s 3nm Plus process will be unveiled in 2023, and Apple’s A17 chip will be the first customer

 According to foreign media reports, after mass production of the 5nm process in the first quarter of this year and foundry related chips for Apple and other customers, TSMC’s next focus will be on the more advanced 3nm process. The research and development of this process is progressing as planned. , The plant was completed in November.

 

The 7nm and 5nm processes are the same. The 3nm process that TSMC is planning will also have a second generation, which is what they call the 3nm Plus process.

 

Foreign media reports show that TSMC has announced that their 3nm Plus process will be launched in 2023, but has not disclosed that it will be launched in the first half or the second half of 2023.

 

In terms of customers, the English media said that Apple will be the first customer for the 3nm Plus process. Some foreign media also stated in reports that according to time estimates, Apple’s main processor in 2023 will be the A17 on the iPhone 15, and the first product of TSMC’s second-generation 3nm will be the A17.

 

In the last three quarters of earnings analyst conference calls, TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia talked about the 3nm process. He is progressing smoothly. He plans to risk trial production in 2021 and mass production in the second half of 2022.

 

In terms of the time interval for mass production with the 3nm process, the 3nm Plus process will be launched in 2023, which is consistent with the two generations of the 7nm and 5nm processes in terms of time interval. TSMC’s 7nm process will be mass-produced in April 2018, and the second generation will be launched the following year. The 5nm process will be mass-produced in the first quarter of this year. The second-generation is planned to be mass-produced next year. It will be launched a year after the first mass production.

 

The details of TSMC's second-generation 3nm process are still unclear, but what can be encountered is that the density, energy consumption, and performance indicators of the transistor will be improved compared with the first-generation.