TSMC, along with research teams like imec, continues to push the boundaries in pursuit of optimal solutions for achieving high bandwidth and low power consumption on the same chip area.

As per a report from Commercial Times, Imec has even mapped out a blueprint for the Angstrom era, with the potential to surpass the A1 threshold by 2040. They have also revealed that the A14 node will require the adoption of High-NA EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography with High Numerical Aperture), reportedly hinting that TSMC’s adoption of High-NA EUV is inevitable.

Per another report from the Economic Daily News, Luc Van den hove, President and CEO of imec, presented imec’s latest technological roadmap at the ITF Taiwan 2024 forum. He outlined plans to advance to the 2nm node by 2025, enter the angstrom era with the A14 process by 2027, and reach the A2 process by 2037.

He also explained the changes in imec’s transistor architecture, stating that the 2nm process will transition from FinFET to Nanosheet architecture, while the A7 process will further shift to complementary FET (CFET) architecture.

This, per Commercial Times’ report, hints that TSMC’s adoption is only a matter of time. TSMC emphasized that whenever new structures and tools, such as High-NA EUV, emerge, they carefully evaluate their maturity, costs, schedules, and feasibility.

Min Cao, Vice President of R&D at TSMC, pointed out that the performance, power, and area (PPA) gains from field-effect transistors (FETs) are diminishing. To sustain high growth, TSMC does not rule out the development of emerging materials.

He further expressed optimism about the significant growth wave driven by artificial intelligence, noting that the complexity of AI models and computational power is expected to grow exponentially.

Min Cao noted that the automotive sector will soon adopt 3nm and 5nm chips, and TSMC will be able to support the advancement of autonomous driving. He estimated that the semiconductor market will reach a scale of USD 1 trillion by 2030.

Read more

• [News] TSMC’s Expansion beyond 2nm Taking Shape? Angstrom-Class Fabs Possibly in Southern Taiwan
• [News] Decipher TSMC’s Calm Take on High-NA EUV Lithography Machines: Who May Have the Last Laugh in the Angstrom Era?

(Photo credit: TSMC)