TSMC’s ‘3nm Plus’ Manufacturing Process to Begin in 2023

One year after 3nm production, which will start in 2022, the 3nm Plus renewal is coming.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) gave some details about 5nm and 3nm manufacturing technologies in August. Later, we learned that the company had completed its 3nm production facilities and would start mass production in 2022. Now, it has been announced that the production of ‘3nm Plus’, which is the revised version of the 3nm process, will begin in 2023.
As you can imagine, Apple will again be the first customer in this new process, according to DigiTimes. We learned that 15% performance increase, 30% power efficiency and 70% density increase will be achieved during the transition from 5nm to 3nm. However, there is no information about what exactly the ‘Plus’ refresh will offer.
While TSMC uses 3nm manufactured FinFET type transistors, Samsung’s 3nm adopts the more advanced GAA transistor approach. In this regard, TSMC believes FinFet transistor technology is better in terms of cost and energy efficiency.
As you know, chips produced by the Taiwanese giant are used in many technological products we encounter on a daily basis. We learned that TSMC has ended the discount that it offers to its customers who make large purchases. Time will tell whether this situation will reflect negatively on the end user.
Expected TSMC Scaling
Development | 7nm to 5nm | N5 to N5P | N5 to N4 (5nm) | From 5nm to 3nm |
Power Increase at Same Performance | 30% | 10% | ? | 25-30% |
Same Power Performance Increase | 15% | 5% | ? | 10-15% |
Density Improvement | 1.8X | ? | ? | 1.7X |