Recently, IC design company Marvell announced an expansion of its long-term partnership with TSMC to include 2-nanometer technology. They will collaborate on developing the industry's first 2-nanometer semiconductor production platform optimized for accelerating infrastructure.
www.trendforce.com/, Mar. 12, 2024 –
Currently, the most advanced production technology in the industry is the 3-nanometer process, manufactured by Samsung Electronics and TSMC. With Intel securing the first ASML lithography machine and updating its latest manufacturing roadmap, and with the increasing collaboration between Rapidus and IBM, the competition for the 2-nanometer advanced process has significantly expanded to include TSMC, Intel, Samsung and Rapidus.
- Marvell
According to Marvell's press release, it has stated that Marvell has transitioned from a follower to a leader in integrating advanced node technology into silicon infrastructure.
Marvell first bringing advanced node technology to infrastructure silicon with its 5nm platform, followed by the release of several 5-nanometer designs and the profolio of the first silicon infrastructure product lineup based on TSMC's 3-nanometer process.
"Tomorrow's artificial intelligence workloads will require significant and substantial gains in performance, power, area, and transistor density. The 2nm platform will enable Marvell to deliver highly differentiated analog, mixed-signal, and foundational IP to build accelerated infrastructure capable of delivering on the promise of AI," said Sandeep Bharathi, chief development officer at Marvell.
- TSMC
TSMC commenced mass production of its 3-nanometer process in 2022, with profitability realized starting from the third quarter of 2023. By the fourth quarter of 2023, the 3-nanometer process contributed to 15% of wafer revenue, and its revenue share has been steadily increasing.
According to TrendForce, the foundry market is expected to grow by 7% in 2024, largely attributed to TSMC's ramp-up of its 3-nanometer process. This has further increased TSMC's market share.
During the earnings call in the fourth quarter of 2023, TSMC announced that its 2-nanometer process (N2) would utilize Nanosheet transistor structures. It is anticipated that N2 will commence mass production in 2025, leading the industry in terms of density and energy efficiency.
The N2 backside power delivery solution is slated for release in the latter half of 2025 and is expected to enter mass production in 2026, primarily targeting the High-Performance Computing (HPC) sector.
Furthermore, due to the current high demand for 2-nanometer processes from all AI innovators worldwide surpassing that for 3-nanometer processes, almost all AI innovators are collaborating with TSMC on 2-nanometer process technology. The main applications are primarily focused on high-performance computing (HPC) and smartphones.
Consequently, TSMC has announced plans to expand its production capacity for 2-nanometer processes. Originally, two 2-nanometer fabs were planned for the Kaohsiung facility, but now consideration is being given to constructing a third 2-nanometer fab.
- Samsung
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