TSMC has shared its plans for chip production in the United States. In particular, the Taiwanese manufacturer intends to produce 30% of its products in America using 2 nm and thinner standards. The company noted that it will accelerate the construction of new workshops at Fab 21 near Phoenix, Arizona, to produce chips using N3 (3 nm), N2 (2 nm), and A16 (1.6 nm) technologies.
Image source: tsmc.com
«”Upon completion, about 30% of our 2nm and higher process capacity will be located in Arizona, creating an independent, advanced semiconductor manufacturing cluster in the U.S. This will also provide greater economies of scale and help build a more complete semiconductor supply chain ecosystem in the U.S.,” said TSMC CEO C.C. Wei.
To enable 30% of N2 and A16 production in Arizona, the company will build two additional facilities there. TSMC has so far confirmed plans to build at least two factories capable of producing N2 and A16 products in Taiwan’s Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, with most of its production remaining in the company’s home country. But increasing the U.S. share to 30% for these technologies is a major event. The first part of TSMC’s Arizona Fab 21 is currently ramping up production of chips for U.S. customers using N4 and N5 technologies. The second factory, which will be capable of producing N3 products, has already been completed, and the company now plans to speed up the installation of equipment to launch mass production at least six months ahead of its previously scheduled date, which was previously simply 2028.
Products using N2 and A16 technologies will be manufactured at the second and third factories, construction of which will begin this year – TSMC does not disclose the exact dates, but it is likely that at least one of them will be commissioned by the beginning of 2029 if the company acquires the necessary equipment in time. The fifth and sixth workshops will use more advanced technological processes than A16 – A14 may be thinner, but the timing of their construction and the increase in production will depend on demand. TSMC intends to form a cluster in Arizona with a production capacity of at least 100,000 wafers per month, but when this will happen is unknown.
«Our expansion plan will help TSMC scale up to a GigaFab cluster to support the needs of our leading customers in the smartphone, AI and high-performance computing segments,” said Mr. Wei.