Samsung Electronics’ foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) division is reported to be conducting process evaluations with companies such as Nvidia and Qualcomm to secure orders for 2 NANO (nanometer; 1 NANO is one billionth of a meter) processes. With the yield of the 3 NANO process, where gate-all-around (GAA) technology is applied for the first time, stabilizing, the company is focusing on securing customers for the improved 2 NANO process. As Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) secures orders for Apple’s application processors (AP) and Nvidia’s artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators, Samsung Electronics is also tightening its efforts to catch up through customer diversification.
The GAA process is a technology that minimizes leakage current and enhances semiconductor performance by surrounding the channel with four gates in all directions. Unlike the previously utilized Fin-FET technology, the GAA process wraps around in three dimensions. Samsung Electronics was the first in the world to apply this in its foundry 3 NANO process, but it struggled with yield instability and performance enhancement, leading to difficulties in securing orders.
According to industry sources on the 13th, Samsung Electronics’ foundry division is expected to soon enter the final stage of performance evaluation for Nvidia’s graphics processing unit (GPU) and Qualcomm’s AP regarding the 2 NANO process. The foundry division of Samsung Electronics is fully committed not only to increasing yield through production of the ‘Exynos 2600’ material but also to customer diversification efforts. Currently, it is reported that Samsung Electronics’ yield for the 2 NANO process exceeds 40%.
Reports indicate that the yield for the 3 NANO process, which first applied GAA technology, has recently surpassed 60%, suggesting it will provide a boost to improving the yield of the 2 NANO process. The 2 NANO process similarly applies GAA technology, developed as an improvement of the 3 NANO process. Initially, the foundry division of Samsung Electronics faced challenges in yield improvement with the 3 NANO process, which led to the failure of its Exynos 2500 system LSI business produced through this process.
A senior official at Samsung Electronics said, “Samsung Electronics’ foundry division was the first in the industry to adopt GAA technology and faced trial and error. While there were challenges in stabilizing initial yields, this experience will serve as a foundation for stabilizing the yield in the advanced 2 NANO process.”
Currently, Qualcomm and Nvidia are also working on collaborations with TSMC on the 2 NANO process. However, Qualcomm and Nvidia are analyzed to have started preparations for mass production with Samsung Electronics’ foundry division as part of diversifying manufacturers. Qualcomm is collaborating with Samsung Electronics’ foundry division to mass-produce APs such as the Snapdragon for mobile devices, while Nvidia is pushing for mass production of GPU materials.
A semiconductor industry source noted, “Amid the escalating geopolitical risks in the Taiwan Strait, global big tech corporations cannot rely solely on TSMC for production,” adding, “While initial yields were lower than expected, positive results have emerged from recent evaluations.”
Samsung Electronics is expected to focus all efforts on securing orders from big tech as it has fallen behind TSMC in advanced processes below 3 NANO. TSMC announced on a performance conference call on the 9th that sales generated from advanced processes below 3 NANO exceeded 22%. It also revealed that the potential demand for the 2 NANO process greatly surpasses that of the 3 NANO process.
TSMC plans to operate the 2 NANO process not only at its production lines in Taiwan but also at its Arizona fab in the United States. TSMC has secured orders for Apple’s AP quantities and has commenced mass production, while AMD’s next-generation AI accelerators are also set to be mass-produced at the Arizona fab using the 2 NANO process. The yield for TSMC’s 2 NANO process is reported to exceed 60%.