TSMC: 3-nanometer transistors

And if it shook the world economy well, the current epidemic has not slowed down the technological competition between the world's major companies. Transistors measuring 5 nanometers have hardly started to change their heads on flagship processors (Apple's A14), and the next generation is already in full swing.


From south-eastern Taiwan (Tainan) comes the news that TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) has completed the construction of its new factory. The investment is heavy at a staggering 19 and a half billion US dollars, it delivered plants intended for forging 3-nanometer transistors. Commercial production is planned for the second half of 2022, and the monthly capacity will be 55,000 wafers (round plates on which chips are printed, in this case with a diameter of 300 millimeters).


Apart from the density of transistors on the chip, which is growing by 70%, what else does this latest reduction bring us? In short, the same as the previous one, as well as each before it. On paper, compared to 5-nm, future processors made in this manner will achieve 15% better performance with 30% less current. Of course, these numbers will in practice depend on the specific design that the engineers apply.