TSMC starts construction of 5nm chip plant in Arizona

Apple partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Tuesday said construction of a new $12 billion chip plant has begun in Phoenix, Ariz., with the facility expected to produce wafers built on the company's 5-nanometer process.

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei announced the development during the company's annual symposium, which was held online for the second year in a row due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, reports Reuters.

Plans to build out the $12 billion chip foundry were confirmed last year, and TSMC in March arranged bond sale to partially fund the operation.

Wei on Tuesday said the project is moving forward on schedule and the fab should begin churning out 5nm wafers in 2024. A portion of that output volume could be dedicated to silicon based on new TSMC technology that is certified by automakers for use in areas like artificial intelligence.

Reports in May suggested TSMC is internally discussing the addition of five more fabs in Arizona, though it is unclear what customers those facilities will serve.

Looking ahead, TSMC is on track to start volume production of 3nm chips at its "Fab 18" plant in Tainan, Taiwan, in the second half of 2022, Reuters reports. Word of the company's 3nm plans first surfaced in June 2020, with later reports claiming Apple gobbled up output capacity for A- and M-series chips bound for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Compared to current 5nm chips, the move to 3nm will increase performance between 10% and 15% while at the same time boosting energy savings from between 20% to 25%, TSMC said last year.

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25 Comments

cia 269 comments · 21 Years

About 3 years ago

OK two things....

One: Isn't TSMC having issues making chips in Taiwan because of the drought that's been happening there? If water can be such an issue, why are they building this plant in Arizona, the driest state in the US?

Two: By the time this plant goes online, 5nm is going to be old news. Why aren't they aiming for 3nm or better?

entropys 4302 comments · 13 Years

cia said:

OK two things....

One: Isn't TSMC having issues making chips in Taiwan because of the drought that's been happening there? If water can be such an issue, why are they building this plant in Arizona, the driest state in the US?

Two: By the time this plant goes online, 5nm is going to be old news. Why aren't they aiming for 3nm or better?

I am sure intel would like to have this problem.

Anyway, there is this old saying: horses for courses.
It means a steeple chaser is no good for the Melbourne Cup.
or for millennial kiddies a modern version might be: EV for the inner cities, 4WD diesel for work. The vehicles have different insides.

s TSMC will use 5nm processors for different applications/products compared with 3nm.

and maybe drought is relative to what climate you are used to.

danox 3393 comments · 11 Years

cia said:

OK two things....

One: Isn't TSMC having issues making chips in Taiwan because of the drought that's been happening there? If water can be such an issue, why are they building this plant in Arizona, the driest state in the US?

Two: By the time this plant goes online, 5nm is going to be old news. Why aren't they aiming for 3nm or better?

Drought? There is no water in Arizona when compared to Taiwan…Water is really in short supply in Arizona.

22july2013 3725 comments · 11 Years

Nearly every country on earth is scheduled for a water shortage this year:

https://www.isciences.com/blog/2021/05/15/isciences-worldwide-water-watch-list-month-2021-tprkn

zimmie 651 comments · 9 Years

cia said:

OK two things....

One: Isn't TSMC having issues making chips in Taiwan because of the drought that's been happening there? If water can be such an issue, why are they building this plant in Arizona, the driest state in the US?

Two: By the time this plant goes online, 5nm is going to be old news. Why aren't they aiming for 3nm or better?

Chandler, Arizona has Intel fabs 12 (22 nm, 14 nm), 22 (22 nm, 14 nm), 32 (22 nm, 14 nm), and 42 (10 nm today with 7 nm coming online in 2022). Only Hillsboro, Oregon beats it in number of semiconductor manufacturing facilities within the US. If you're looking to build manufacturing presence in the US, you have to build where the skilled workers are, and offer them significantly better pay and/or working conditions.