TSMC has high hopes for the 3nm process, and even very rarely organized a launch ceremony for the mass production of the 3nm process, highlighting that it attaches great importance to the 3nm process. However, with the launch of the iPhone 15, the actual performance of the 3nm process is quite Embarrassing, this has caused chip companies to diverge in their attitudes towards it.
1. Apple reveals the truth about TSMC’s 3nm process
TSMC’s official propaganda states that the 3nm process has a performance improvement of 10-15% compared to the 5nm process at the same power consumption, or a 25%-30% reduction in power consumption at the same performance. It seems that the 3nm process has quite good performance. The 3nm process Its first customer is Apple.
The iPhone 15 recently released by Apple gives the answer to the 3-nanometer process. The A17 processor equipped in the iPhone 15 Pro series uses TSMC's 3-nanometer process. The performance of the A17 processor has only increased by 10%, which is far from the expected 30% increase. , which makes people question that TSMC’s 3nm process is not as strong as expected.
Of course, this may also be related to the degradation of Apple's chip design technology. Before the A13 processor, the performance improvement of each generation reached 20% to 30%. The improvement of A14 dropped below 20%. The performance of A15, A16, and A17 in three consecutive generations The improvement did not exceed 10%, showing that Apple is indeed declining in chip technology.
2. TSMC’s conservatism caused 3nm to be too poor
The performance improvement of the 3nm process is limited because it still uses the FINFET process. The industry believes that the FINFET process is actually not suitable for 3nm. The FINFET process can only meet the 4nm and above processes. TSMC forced the FINFET process to be used for 3nm, resulting in 3nm. The performance of the nanotechnology is disappointing.
TSMC forcibly uses the FINFET process for 3 nanometers to ensure smooth progress in the development of the 3 nanometer process. Currently, only Samsung and TSMC have produced the 3 nanometer process in the world. Samsung's radical adoption of the GAA process, which is more suitable for 3 nanometers, has resulted in poor yields. As low as 20%, the 3nm process yield rate under TSMC's conservative strategy is also as low as 55%, which is far from the previous process yield rate of 90%.
Although TSMC's 3nm process is technically insufficient, chip companies have recognized TSMC. After all, chip manufacturing costs have a huge impact. Currently, MediaTek, NVIDIA, etc. who are interested in using 3nm process in the world are interested in using TSMC's 3nm instead of Samsung's 3nm. Nano, proves that cost is more important than technical performance.
From a commercial perspective, TSMC’s conservative strategy was obviously successful, as was the development of the 7-nanometer process that year. TSMC conservatively used DUV lithography machines to produce 7-nanometer products with higher yields, while Samsung aggressively used EUV lithography machines for production. The yield rate of 7nm is too low, and most chip companies still choose TSMC's 7nm, which has slightly backward technology.
3. Chip companies are divided on TSMC’s 3nm
TSMC's 3nm process yield is too low, resulting in too high costs. Apple has forced TSMC to modify its charging rules, from charging based on standard wafers to charging based on available wafers. TSMC will bear 45% of the cost of damaged wafers. However, Whether other chip companies can receive this treatment is questionable.
Apple can force TSMC to modify its charging rules because Apple is TSMC's largest customer, contributing 26% of TSMC's revenue. Other chip companies contribute less than 10% of TSMC's revenue, which gives Apple preferential treatment. Other chip companies may not have such bargaining power.
In terms of financial strength, other chip companies do not have Apple's financial strength. Qualcomm's performance has declined. Due to the fierce competition between it and MediaTek and the loss of an order from a mobile phone company in mainland China, industry rumors indicate that Qualcomm plans to A price war started in the quarter. In order to control costs, Qualcomm plans to continue to use TSMC's 4nm process, while MediaTek, as the attacker, is willing to bear higher costs and plans to use the advanced 3nm process.
The result of TSMC's disappointing 3nm process performance is that it will be difficult for the 3nm process to quickly gain recognition from chip companies, and it will take more time to achieve the success of 5nm. Perhaps TSMC's 3nm process will attract more customers after it introduces the GAA process. Multi-chip enterprise.