Apple chip partner TSMC plans to launch 7nm process in 2018, 5nm in 2020

Taiwanese semiconductor foundry TSMC is reportedly preparing to roll out its 7-nanometer process node as soon as 2018, with a jump to 5 nanometers currently penciled in for 2020.

In the interim, TSMC expects its 10-nanometer fab to begin production ramp-up by the end of this year. TSMC co-CEO Mark Liu made the process announcements at an investor meeting, according to DigiTimes.

If TSMC is able to meet the aggressive launch schedule, it would put the company at the leading edge of wafer fabrication. Intel — widely regarded as the gold standard — is already behind schedule in its own transition to 10-nanometer production, which was initially expected to begin last year.

Many believe that either the 5- or 7-nanometer nodes will be the last commercially viable process shrink, given the limitations of physics. Such small processes magnify quantum effects, requiring substantial changes to transistor architecture and materials.

The industry has only now begun to shift to 14-nanometer production. Apple was among the first companies to take advantage of Samsung's 14-nanometer process with the A9, though some A9 chips are fabricated on TSMC's 16-nanometer line.

21 Comments

thewhitefalcon 4444 comments · 10 Years

About 8 years ago

TSMC's 16nm process is superior to the Samsung 14nm LPE process the A9 is using. I think Sammy's LPP variant is a closer match.

Really though, the fact that all A9X production is handled by TSMC tells you who Apple prefers, and I suspect the majority of A9 production is handled by TSMC's fabs.

ireland 17435 comments · 18 Years

Roughly how fast would you guess a 5nm quad core A-series could/would be compared at an A9?

kpom 659 comments · 13 Years

So what happens to Moore's Law after 2020? Is it finally "repealed," or are there other materials (e.g. gallium oxide) that can keep semiconductor processes moving forward?

blastdoor 3565 comments · 15 Years

kpom said:

So what happens to Moore's Law after 2020? Is it finally "repealed," or are there other materials (e.g. gallium oxide) that can keep semiconductor processes moving forward?

I don't know the answer, but I'll point out that Moore's Law is as much about economics as it is about physics and engineering.

That means that even if it is physically possible to find a way to continue the transistor shrink game, that doesn't tell us if Moore's Law will continue. It can only continue if playing that game continues to be profitable. And there are reasons to believe it might not be. The experience of the industry up until now has been that it's always cheaper to build a processor with N transistors on the next node than on the current node. For example, a 1 billion transistor SOC fabbed at 28 nm is cheaper than a the same 1 billion transistor SOC fabbed at 32 nm.

There has been a lot of speculation that those days might be over -- that when we go beyond 14 nm, we might find that the processors become more expensive ,not less expensive. If that's true, then the only reasons to continue moving forward are improvements in performance/watt. Of course, that's a good reason. But it might not be a good enough reasons the further we go....

macky the macky 4801 comments · 15 Years

ireland said:

Roughly how fast would you guess a 5nm quad core A-series could/would be compared at an A9?

The answer may depend more on how much faster Apple feels is needed. Apple balances CPU/GPU speed against time before the battery needs recharging. So, the first 5nm chip may be put in the Apple Watch and not the iPad Pro.

I'm still amazed at the current speeds and battery capacity.