In the ongoing global race for advanced semiconductor technology, TSMC, the leader in semiconductor manufacturing services, continues its strides towards 2nm project. The Hsinchu’s Baoshan plant is set to commence equipment installation in Q2 2024, with mass production scheduled for Q4 2025, starting with a monthly output of around 30,000 wafers. Meanwhile, TSMC fab in Kaohsiung is organizing for N2P mass production, featuring backside power supply tech, a year after N2’s debut.

According to a report by Taiwan’s Money DJ, as previously shared by TSMC, the N2 process introduces a backside power rail solution, ideal for high-performance computing (HPC) applications. The backside power rail promises a 10% to 12% speed boost and a 10% to 15% logic density improvement. The aim is to introduce backside power rail to customers in H2 2025, aligning with supply chain reports.

Notably, Intel led the transition from planar transistors to FinFET, and now, with evolving technologies like MBCFET, BSPDN (Backside Power Delivery Network) based on Gate-All-Around (GAA) FET. Major players such as TSMC, Samsung, and Intel actively compete for leadership in the next-gen GAA technology, and have further presented promising and proactive technology roadmaps.

According to Samsung Semiconductor’s plans, they target to implement the 2nm process into mass production by 2025, with 1.4nm scheduled for 2027. Intel, adopting RibbonFET transistor architecture based on GAA technology, anticipates pilot production of the 20A version in H1 2024 and mass production of the 18A in 2025.

According to a report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily, the construction of TSMC’s 2-nanometer fab in the Central Taiwan Science Park (CSTP) is confirmed to be delayed until next year due to land acquisition and construction timelines.

The Taiwan Central Science Park Administration indicated that this project has been delayed by a year and a half, and the operational schedule is now too tight. After receiving approval from the Taichung City government, it still needs to undergo review by the Construction and Planning Agency Ministry of the Interior. It is anticipated that the urban planning announcement by the Taichung City government will be made by the end of the year, a prerequisite for initiating land acquisition procedures. However, meeting this year’s end deadline for land acquisition is now deemed unfeasible.

The Central Science Park Administration was notified by the Taichung City government today that the expansion project for Phase 2 of the CSTP, crucial for TSMC’s 2-nanometer fab, has been scheduled for urban planning review on the 25th of this month.

Due to repeated delays in the urban planning approval process for the CSTP Phase 2 expansion, TSMC recently made the decision to plan for the construction of a 2-nanometer fab in Kaohsiung.

It’s worth noting that the inclusion of the CSTP Phase 2 expansion project in this month’s urban planning review hinges on TSMC’s announcement of its 2-nanometer fab plans in Kaohsiung. The breakthrough came after Taiwan Power Company and Taiwan Water Corporation finally issued assurances that TSMC’s CSTP 2-nanometer fab’s development and operation would not compromise the assurance of power and water supply for Taichung residents, which provided a turning point for the project.

(Photo credit: TSMC)