TSMC is constructing its first advanced fab on US soil in Arizona, challenging Intel on its home turf. Apple will be the first chipmaker to leverage wafers from this foundry to manufacture its next-gen 3nm iPhone SoCs. For the first time, NVIDIA has managed to get a share of the early wafer share, although it’s probably getting 4nm capacity rather than 3nm.
TSMC’s Arizona foundry will go live in 2024, with mass production of 4nm (N4) chips planned for the same year. According to industry sources, we might even see the construction of an additional fab for 3nm (N3) wafers, putting the Arizona site on equal footing with the Taiwan supply chain (at least in terms of technical prowess). It’s worth noting that Intel promises the mass production of its 2nm and 1.8nm (20A and 18A) nodes around the same time frame.
TSMC will build a total of six factories in Arizona with a targeted capacity of 100K wafers per month. In the first round, however, the sole fab will produce 20K wafers per month, following an investment of $12 billion. The overall investment for the site is pegged at $35 billion.
The Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will hold an inauguration ceremony at the Arizona site tomorrow. US President Joe Biden, Apple CEO Tim Cook, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, and AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su will all attend the event to celebrate the arrival of the first machines at the campus.
According to NikkeiAsia, Apple and NVIDIA are confirmed as the first clients of the Arizona fab, but AMD might get a small portion of the pie as well. The chips fabbed by TSMC at the Arizona fab won’t differ from those produced in Taiwan. However, it’ll be a symbolic gesture as the world’s frontrunner in contract manufacturing begins its first initiative on US soil.
Source: NikkeiAsia
