TSMC's Arizona factory 'Fab 21' begins production of 4nm semiconductors, with yield and quality on par with Taiwanese factories
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A Reuters report on January 10, 2025 revealed that TSMC's new Arizona factory, Fab 21, which was reported to be scheduled to begin operations in early 2025, has already begun production of 4nm chips.
TSMC begins producing 4-nanometer chips in Arizona, Raimondo says | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc-begins-producing-4-nanometer-chips-arizona-raimondo-says-2025-01-10/
TSMC's Arizona Fab 21 is already making 4nm chips — yield and quality reportedly on par with Taiwan fabs | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/tsmcs-arizona-fab-21-is-already-making-4nm-chips-yield-and-quality-reportedly-on-par-with-taiwan-fabs
US Commerce Secretary Gina Lemond told Reuters that TSMC has begun producing 4nm chips for American customers at Fab 21.
'For the first time in our country's history, we are producing cutting-edge 4nm chips on American soil, by American workers, at the volume and quality equal to that of Taiwan. This is an incredible event never before seen in American history, something many said would never happen,' Secretary Lemond said.
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According to undisclosed information cited by news site Tom's Hardware, Fab 21 is producing at least three models.
The first is the A16 Bionic SoC used in Apple's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, the second is the main processor of the S9, Apple's smartwatch SiP , and the third is the AMD Ryzen 9000 series. These chips are manufactured using TSMC's 4nm process technology, N4 and its improved version, N4P.
TSMC also said it would begin operating a second fab to produce chips using the 2nm process in 2028, and has also agreed to set up a third fab to produce chips at a 1.6nm-class node by 2030.
It is estimated that about $65 billion will be needed to set up three factories in Fab 21. Under the CHIPS and Science Act, the Department of Commerce has provided TSMC with $6.6 billion in grant funding and up to $5 billion in credit facilities.
Raymond said he wants 20 percent of the world's most advanced logic chips to be made in the United States by 2030.
TSMC isn't the only company looking to build a new semiconductor fab in Arizona.
Amkor, a semiconductor company headquartered in the United States, plans to build America's largest advanced semiconductor packaging facility in Arizona, and the Department of Commerce decided to provide Amkor with a $407 million (about 64.1 billion yen) grant in December 2024.
Fab 21 does not have a packaging facility, so the collaboration between TSMC, which will produce the chips, and Amkor, which will handle the post-processing, is expected to streamline the semiconductor manufacturing process in Arizona.
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in Hardware, Posted by log1l_ks