Samsung overtakes TSMC in mass production of world’s 1st 3-nanometer chips

Samsung Electronics stepped ahead of TSMC, becoming the world’s first chipmaker to begin mass production of 3-nanometer process nodes, applying gate-all-around (GAA) transistor architecture.

The Korean firm made the announcement, Thursday, that it had beaten its Taiwanese rival, which aims to mass-produce 3-nanometer chips by the second quarter of this year, as well as Intel, which has made huge investments in the foundry business to achieve the same goal by the second quarter of next year.

According to Samsung Electronics, the 3-nanometer process is regarded as the most advanced at this moment, because it can reduce power consumption by up to 45 percent, improve performance by 23 percent and reduce surface area by 16 percent, compared to the conventional 5-nanometer process.

U.S. President Joe Biden also drew global attention to Samsung’s 3-nanometer chip production process, as he autographed its prototype last month when he visited the company’s factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, during a state visit to Korea to hold a summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol.

“Samsung has grown rapidly as we continue to demonstrate leadership in applying next-generation technologies to manufacturing, such as the foundry industry’s first high-K metal gate, FinFET, as well as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. We seek to continue this leadership with the world’s first 3-nanometer process with the MBCFET,” said Choi Si-young, head of the company’s foundry business. “We will continue active innovation in competitive technology development and building processes that help expedite achieving the maturity of technology.”

As of the first quarter of this year, TSMC accounted for 53.6 percent of the global foundry market, while Samsung accounted for 16.3 percent, according to market research firm TrendForce.

Samsung was considered to be lagging behind TSMC in terms of the yield rate for 4-nanometer chips. Experts have therefore advised the Korean company to reduce defects in its chip production, if it wants to catch up with its Taiwanese competitor.

Although Samsung has not disclosed the yield rate and clients of its 3-nanometer chips, it was reported that it has increased its proportion of good units.

Based on this achievement, Samsung plans to increase its number of clients to around 300 by 2026 from 100 in 2021.